Mindful Moment #36 - Wintershine & Wonder Awaits You

A Merry Little Christmas

I am rusty at multi-tasking to the extent Christmas requires. I have lists and lists and I still let things slide off of my plate and land on the floor with a splat. For example, I have a gift for my youngest child’s teacher in a shopping bag under my bed, but yesterday was the last day of school before Winter Break. I totally *knew* I had it, but forgot to send it. Sigh. My apologies go out to Ms. Jones…the gift card will be a suitable “New Year” gift, thankfully.

There is also the little fact that I have the ingredients for five different Christmas candies, cookies, and other treats to make for “the holiday,” none of which have been made. Yet. There is a birthday meal to host, presents to wrap, stockings to fill, and a rather shockingly large dollhouse to assemble somehow secretly between now and Sunday morning. Only half of the Christmas cards have been sent out. It’s fine. It’ll get done somehow. Or it won’t, and it will still be fine.

Even as I am plotting my days down to the minute, I am still letting myself cherish the moments of nostalgia and sweetness, humor and joy that the holiday has afforded me. There is a veritable ornament-making factory happening on the dining room table with which the 6-year-old has been busying herself. The older kids are scurrying about, trying to keep secrets from each other, and involving me in their gift conspiracies. It’s all so cute. I love it.

I have also kept an eye toward the light, paying attention to how it changes the clouds in the morning—soft pink and pillowy. There is fog in the creek beds on the colder mornings, and if you sit and watch, you’ll see the deer snuffling about in the underbrush. In the afternoons there are high, clear, eggshell blue winter skies that make me feel like smiling. The sunsets come almost too early to realize, but I still like how the muted winter light is purple and gray. At night, the clouds have been low to the ground, muffling the sounds of traffic, and making the neighborhood Christmas lights appear a little more sparkly.

In one of those moments that I had to myself, when I really should have been writing out Christmas cards, I kept thinking about writing down the feeling of cherishing this season. And as I was gazing over my ingredient stash in the pantry, making a mental note to get more pecans, my eyes landed on a Christmas gift of yesteryear…a big stash of magnet words. Being the fan of magnet poetry that I am, I spent two hours piecing out this poem instead of attending to my lists. If you don’t mind indulging me, please accept this little token of poetry for your gift from me.

I’m calling it, “Wintershine and Wonder.”

I hope the season is treating you well, even if the tasks seem daunting. May there be joy in the down time and a sense of peace in your heart.

As always, namaste.

Amy

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That’s all for today, y’all – remember, taking time to focus on you is an act of love.

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