Holiday Reflections

We just arrived home from my mom's where we spent Christmas. It was lovely, complete with an entire day in the house playing with Christmas gifts (although I did make it to the shower in order to be presentable for our dinner guests). We spent the day after Christmas exploring the wonders of the outdoors in Red Rock Canyon where our children climbed rocks and discovered caves, made arrowheads, and danced with the devil of a seemingly bottomless pool of water that was cold, very cold. But they tromped through mud and water, encouraged each other, climbed rocks that were pretty tough, and enjoyed themselves. What more could a parent ask for?

We returned from our adventures to a stack of holiday greetings, or should I say holiday pictures. One of my dearest friends loves getting holiday photos as long as they include the parents. "Kids are always changing," she says, "but it's MY friends that I want to see." I agree. It's nice to see everyone each holiday, if only a snapshot, in their finest attire, with their best smile. This is the time when everyone wants to look their best, or share their best adventure of the year, or simply sign a card that says Merry Christmas. Whatever the case may be, it's nice to be the recipient of so many happy faces.

I noticed the same feeling when I sent a text to the people who really make a difference in my life on Christmas Eve. The responses that came pouring back made me smile, each one. It is truly a great thing to share your feelings, however simple, with those who are important to you. It is hard to remember in the thick of things, but that is why I'm particularly grateful for a moment of clarity to compose a message to say, "You matter to me." I think everyone needs that, no matter what.

So tonight as I opened the cards in our stack of mail (I chose to ignore the bills for now and concentrate on the nice mail), I realized that there was only one "Year in Review." I wonder why that is . . . are we too busy? Have the lives of our children overtaken our own and we have nothing to report? Has this year been one we'd rather not remember? I don't know, but I realized that I'm in the same boat. Because of the nature of my business and busyness at the holidays, I just managed to pull together a photo montage with a New Year's message and I too am happy to address and mail away our cards. I think that's okay, but I still love to write, so I'll blog . . . for now.

2010 Soups

If you're interested in making some soups, here are some of our favorites from this year: