What Christmas Feels Like

 

For anyone who has been following this blog from the beginning, you already know the story of my pilgrimage to find a simpler life and where that led me. For anyone new to the blog, let me just encapsulate the story: City-born girl longs for life in a small town. When the kids are all grown and gone, and hubby has flown the coop, city girl packs up her car and heads north to a small country town that made all of her dreams come true. It was like living in a Hallmark movie, with county fairs, and hometown parades and, most of all, a country Christmas that would have made Normal Rockwell jealous. It was almost perfect and she was so very happy.

Fast forward 25 years and city girl turned country girl had to move to a medium sized town on the edge of a small city because jobs in her little town got to be few and far between and she had to support herself. After she retired, she tried moving back to the small town of her dreams but this time it just didn't feel the same. Everything felt and looked different and, worst of all, Christmas was no longer beautiful and perfect. In fact, it was downright depressing, especially since the rest of her family were living an hour south of her. So when a small studio apartment with a killer view came up for rent in that slightly larger town, in the suburb of that smaller city, she moved closer to family and friends, and has spent the last three years trying to figure out what went wrong when she had tried moving back to the town of her dreams. So this is what she (meaning "I") came up with.

Christmas, like life itself, isn't where you live, or how you live, it's who you are wherever you live. Sure, it's a tree, and cookies, and carols, and Santa, but it's much more than that. It's the choices you make that turns your life, and your holidays, into the gifts of love, charity, and kindness that follow you wherever you live and that define you inner as well as our outer life. Maybe, after growing up amidst the bright lights of New York City at  Christmas - magical to say the least - and all the hustle and bustle that went with it, and then experiencing a hometown Christmas of carols in the square, the town Christmas tree, and the annual church Christmas bazaars, I was trying too hard to make it an either/or kind of life when at it's best it was a blending of them both. 

Life, especially at Christmas, and especially after the year we've all had, should be about all the things that feel like Christmas - the love, the care, the compassion, the giving without expecting something in return, and the knowledge that everything else is just tinsel on the tree. May your Christmas, and your life, be trimmed with all the things that make life a blessing no matter where you live.

And so it is. 

The Colors Of Christmas

 

Well, it's officially here ... the season of lights. Everywhere you look there are colored lights, white lights, and, in some cases, even outdoor spot lights. I love the commercial that's on TV right now about the guy who puts so many lights on his house that the astronauts can see them from the space station!

As a child I was enveloped in the magic of the lights of Christmas just like any other kid. It was only when I got older, and especially in the last 25 years or so, that I became more enamored of the natural colors of the season rather than the often loud, in-your-face decorations and attention seeking set ups. Don't get me wrong. I love a good Christmas decoration just like most folks. In fact my youngest daughter, whom I refer to as my Christmas Baby because of her December birthday, goes above and beyond a few lights and a waving Santa out front. It brings her joy and puts smiles on the faces of everyone who drives by, and that is as it should be. For me, it's all about what Mother Nature has given us for free. 

Above everything else, it starts with the color green, the green of the tree, and the holy leaves, and the wreaths, and the swags of garlands hung around the house. After green comes the red of the holly berries and the cranberries strung and wrapped around the tree, and the red stripes of the candy canes.  Then, of course, there is the snow, the beautiful, fluffy, white snow that is the finishing touch, almost like a woman accessorizing with jewelry. My own little woodland tree has artificial snow on its branches so that it looks like a Christmas tree for all the woodland creatures like the ones I have nestled underneath - a squirrel, a beaver, and lots of birds. 

It's at times like these, when we are all searching for ways to think "outside the box" when it comes to finding clever ways to decorate this year, but we are being told to stay inside the box, that I think back to our ancestors who didn't have a Walmart or a Home Depot to go to for holiday decorations. They took the gifts that Mother Nature provided them with and created their own indoor wonderland. I'd like to think that those were, and still are, the best gifts of all, because they remind us that no matter what happens in the world if people, Mother still takes care of her own.

And so it is. 

And So It Begins

 

'Twas four days after Thanksgiving, and all through the house, the leftovers were gone and Christmas officially began!"

I don't know what your Christmas tradition is like for when you start decorating the tree and the house, but in my family the pumpkin pie and coffee are still on the table when my youngest daughter herds up the rest of the family and starts hauling boxes down from the attic. Before the kids' heads have hit the pillow with tummies full of turkey and stuffing, the tree is up, most of the indoor decorations are placed around the house, and the foyer is stacked with the things that will be going outside (in fact this year a few of those found their way to the porch as well). In my daughter's house, once Santa comes down the street in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, it's official: The Christmas season is here!

My daughter was a December baby and that has played a huge part in her official capacity as "The Grand Dame of All Things Christmas." All three of her children, and now her grandson, know what it's like starting on Thanksgiving Day to live in a place that looks like Christmas Village, with the smell of cookies baking and seasonal music playing. Actually, she has had the music programmed into her car's radio since right after Halloween. As she says, you can never start too early.

As much as we tease her about being perpetually 5 years old when it comes to Christmas, there is something about watching the tree go up that touches the 5 year old in all of us. The last few years I have enjoyed putting up my tiny woodland tree, it's branches dusted with a snow-like substance and looking like it could be sitting in the middle of the woods, a Christmas tree for the critters. My daughter's is a full sized tree and she also opted for one with the look of a dusting of snow on the branches. They both remind me of the days when I was little and my Dad would bring the real, freshly cut tree home tied to the roof of his car. These days ours are artificial because, alas, the Christmas baby is allergic to pine trees. That does not stop her from turning her home into a woodland, Christmas delight.

This year I've even toyed with the idea of stringing dried berries and popcorn on my tree, to take it back to an older, gentler time, and only hanging the handmade ornaments. I don't want Christmas to be glitzy this year. This year, of all years, I want it to be simple, natural, and a reminder that one of the most important symbols of this holiday came out of nature. This symbol, the tree, touches all of our hearts regardless of how old we are. It is love, and hope, and wonder at what Mother Nature has created just for us. It makes a house a home. 

I'm holding off until next weekend to put up my tree so that my youngest granddaughter can take part and help old Grandma pull down the boxes and bags from the closet. Maybe we'll even make cookies and enjoy our church's livestream of the annual Christmas concert with a cup of hot chocolate in our hands as well. For sure the Christmas music will be playing ... and then we'll both be 5 again if only for a day.

And so it is. 

With Thanks To All My Relations

 

The Native Americans have a saying that they use in their prayers of gratitude and petition for peace, health, and happiness:

"All my relations."

The phrase "all my relations" refers not just to the humans in a person's life, but every living thing on the earth. Every animal from a tiny insect to a huge mammal, every growing thing from a blade of grass to every tree and plant, and every ounce of water from a trickle to the oceans - all of them are our sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers. Each and every one of them is a living, breathing, creation and support us in our own lives. Is it any wonder that we should ask for blessings for their peace and existence as to ask for blessings for our own?

If you think about it, without the things that nature has created, we would not have survived as a species. Nature provided first man and first woman with materials to build a shelter, clothe themselves, feed themselves, and protect themselves. Thousands of years later, even if you take away all of the technology and creature comforts we have come to depend on, nature would still be able to provide for us the same way she did in the beginning. You won't find any more devoted, committed, and supportive mother love anywhere in the world of humans. 

So this Thanksgiving as I give thanks for my food, my family, my health, and my home, I also ask for blessings for dear Mother Nature and for the strength and gratitude of her children to continue the fight to keep her clean, keep her healthy, and keep her strong. Truly, without her, and without all my relations, we would not be here at all. It's something to think about as we sit down to our turkey and football this week.

And so it is. 

Feeding Our Senses

 

The last surge of Indian Summer has finally had it's day and November is back with a vengeance. It is cold, cloudy and very blustery. We had a heavy ran yesterday and today the words snow flurries made it into the forecast. What better day to enjoy the gifts of the harvest and get a big pot of soup bubbling on the stove!

"Soup is the song of the hearth and the home."

Louis Pullig DeGouy 

There is something about a good pot of soup, especially one like vegetable soup, that feeds all of our senses. First we see the beautiful colors of the veggies, the bright orange of the carrots, the deep greens, perhaps the yellow of squash or freshly shucked corn. Then we feel the food in our hands as we wash it, peel it, and cut it up. Next we hear the onions and veggies sauteing in the pot, that sound that signifies the beginning of the process. Then we begin to  smell the aroma as the ingredients do their job and the soup starts to bubble away, filling our home with that smell that only soup can provide, the one that says, "home sweet home." Finally, that first taste of the goodness that Mother Nature provided for our nourishment and pleasure.  

I have often heard it said that soup is the perfect meal. I would have to agree with that. It certainly does feed all of our senses and, even more important, it feeds our souls as well as our bodies. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling the urge to "put up a pot of soup" as my mother used to say. How about you?

And so it is. 

O' Thanksgiving Tree?

 

In times of stress and the fear that it's only going to get worse, humans tend to cling to things that bring them a sense of comfort and security - hence the term  security blanket. For some of us it's a well worn bathrobe, or a blanket, or music that calms our nerves, or movies that hit our feel good buttons. Maybe it's grandma's chicken soup or carrying on with our Sunday tradition of beer, finger foods, and football. Or, maybe it's ... a Christmas tree. 

Yes, you read that correctly - a Christmas Tree. I have come across several folks on Facebook who have put up their trees. Some are decorating them with autumn themes like pine cones, dried flowers and dried fruit with the idea of re-decorating them after Thanksgiving with a more Christmas-like theme. A few folks that have done this have shared that there is something about a tree that gives out a sense of stability and feeling grounded. One woman wrote that by decorating it first for Thanksgiving, she was showing her gratitude for the seasons, for the abundance that nature provides. It helps her to stay rooted in her values.

I have written about trees on this blog over the last seven years probably more than any other aspect of nature and what they bring to our lives. Given what is going on in the country, and in the world, at the present time. I can't think of a better quote about trees than this one from writer and activist Tasneem Hameed:

"Learn character from trees, values from roots, and change from leaves."

Trees never try to be something other than they are, a strong presence in nature, a provider of food and shelter, for all living things, and a reminder that even when all their leaves fall to the ground, in spring they will return. A maple tree doesn't dream of being a pine tree. An oak tree isn't envious of the blossoms on a cherry tree. They are who they are, they live out their lives knowing that the sun will rise again, the seasons will change, and there's enough for everyone. 

A few years ago after downsizing to a small studio apartment, I traded in my bigger artificial Christmas tree (my daughter is allergic to live ones) for a smaller one that is covered in flocking like snow and sits wrapped in a burlap ball just like the trees do when their planted. I love this little tree because it so reminds me of how they look in nature. Maybe, just maybe, I'll haul it out and decorate it in pine cones and dried berries, and colorful cut-out autumn leaves. And maybe, just maybe, it will remind me every time I look at it of how grateful I am for all that I have. 

And so it is.

There's Always Something We Can Do

If you're not into gardening, then you probably think that after all that produce is harvested and the last pumpkin has made it out of the pumpkin patch, that's it for the gardening year. So I'll tell you a little secret that only gardeners know: in gardening, just like in life, there's always something we can do. Let me give you some examples for November:

1. Planting bulbs - the bulbs you plant now will give you blooms in the spring. Kind of like when you plant an idea or an intention for something you want to grow in your life. Sometimes it takes a while for it to bloom, just like the daffodils and tulips, but if you plant it deep and give it love, it will bloom for you.

2. Plant up bare-root trees and shrubs - some things that have already started producing roots are ready to go into the ground. This is when you'll see if those roots have been fed and nourished enough to survive the challenges of winter. If we've done a good job nourishing our goals and dreams, giving them strong roots, they'll make it through the challenges ahead.

3. Protect what needs protecting - thin young trees and things like roses will need protection from the winds and frosts. They need staking and sometimes will require some serious pruning to give them a stronger, healthier start next season. The same holds true in our lives. Things that we hold as precious need to be staked and protected from those who would try to inject unhealthy elements into our world. Wrap them in love and a strong foundation, and don't be afraid to prune off what no longer serves you.

4. Let the leaves work for you - I know, raking leaves seems like and endless and thankless job, but those very leaves make some of the best compost for your garden. Just rake them up, put them in black trash bags with drainage holes in the bottom, store them behind the garage or shed, and next spring you'll have some beautiful leaf mulch to spread all over your garden. It's kind of like the old saying: if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. It isn't what life throws in your path, it's what you do with it that matters.

For all of the years that I've gardened in one fashion or another, not one year goes by that I don't learn something new about life along the way. Even after all these years, there is always something new to learn. We just need to keep our eyes, and our hearts, open to what Mother Nature wants to share with us!

And so it is.