201

I just passed my 200th post and didn't even realize it......so much for marking the occasion!

It's the evening of December 25th, and I am sitting in my parents' kitchen - what used to be a tiny divided space is now one huge kitchen/dining area, and I love it. We celebrated here last night with the whole family and it didn't feel crowded, for the first time in a long time. I've just come in from a walk through my hometown with the dog - it's a warm and windy night, and the rain has finally stopped. It was lovely.

This is me right now, courtesy of the webcam:

Christmas is a holiday that I still celebrate with the family, even though my heart is pagan, and Yule is the day that I mark as spiritually significant. There was a lot of food this year, as usual - more food than even our large family could possible eat. My brother was here from Boston, my 98 year old grandmother came for the evening from the nursing home...I arrived on Christmas Eve, went home that night, and came back this afternoon for turkey dinner. I'm staying tonight - Emily is tucked into bed with her cousin, after a long day of playing, reading, and sitting in the hot tub.

I received a few gifts this year that I love:

and this from my daughter

which I love, love, love!! She was almost as excited as I was...and couldn't wait for me to open it so she could watch it with me. Amy, Amy,Amy!

But the best gift of all was discovered by accident, a few minutes ago in my parents CD collection.

I guess I'm a typical mother. I'm proud of what both of my daughters have accomplished. A few years ago, when Megan was 12, she was invited to participate in a project with her school choir and a local church...and the result was a CD.

I used to cry when she performed as a child. At Kiwanis, during church solos, sometimes even when she sang with her children's choir. I have several CD's from her years as a chorister, and while I treasure them all, I loved her little moment in the spotlight.....until the CD went missing about a year ago. I think that she probably took it out of the CD cupboard and forgot to replace it, but I remember looking for it last Christmas, and being quite upset when it could not be found. I wanted Emily to hear her big sister singing.

Lo and behold, I found a copy of the CD tucked away at my mom and dad's. I uploaded it with a still image so that you could hear the music that still has the power to make me cry, even though her voice has matured, even though there were, and will be other moments for her to shine.



 I plan to end my day sitting in my parents' sunroom, in the dark, watching the shadows and listening to the wind sigh through the balsam firs in the back yard. 

Blessings to all on this magical night of peace.