Advent

I feel a bit proud of our advent tradition.  Well, we've (not quite) done it all of two years.  Beginning on December 1st, we alternate between "giving" and "getting."  Some of the "gives" included: 

• write a gratitude letter to someone you admire
• make peanut butter pine cones for the birds
• make bread for the local homeless shelter
• deliver neighbor gifts
• send presents to cousins
• draw pictures and deliver them to the senior center nearby
• give a gift to Melody the children's librarian during storytime
• make something for your teachers
• make something for your friends
• make end-of-the year donations

The "gets" were things like pencils, candy-cane pipe cleaners, a holiday book, gum, and mints.

The humble part of it all, however, is that I couldn't really pull it off.  I thought that we'd stretch them out and then on Christmas Eve, we'd just make sure we'd covered everything.  But, that didn't happen either.  

So, the kids will either remember the goal of giving, or quite honestly, until they're 25, they'll probably just carry an overall disorganized impression of their mother.  

Right now, I'm ok with good intentions. 

 

Christmas Tree

For the second year in a row, we cut a tree down for Christmas as part of a tree-thinning fundraiser.  This year was memorable as the last, but in very different ways.   With an absence of snow, the highlight was playing around a pond, throwing ice and retrieving branches.  We did make it back with a tree - plus a sense of connection to its home, and a feeling of warmth in ours.

Holiday Parade

I don't think we have ever missed our town's holiday parade.  It sets the tone for the season.  

This year, it seemed especially colorful, reflective of this place that's our home.  The entrants included: 

• lit up, joyful bikers,  
• belly dancers,
• a free-flowing high school band, 
• a uniform, regimented high school band,
• fire blowers (how did that pass the code?!),
• recycling trucks,
• port-a-potties,
• the town librarian, passing out books,
• an electric bus,
• a turn of the century fire truck,
• Dogs, dogs and more dogs,
• the crazy, puppet man,
• the chinese dragon,
• the county fair queen,
• Mr. and Mrs. Santa

My younger kids stood mesmerized.  My oldest wanted to throw a football with his dad on the sidewalk.  Frozen fingers, tantrums, and pre-teen distraction notwithstanding, I am holding onto this tradition. 

Ritual: The Mail Run

In our old house, our mailbox hung right next to the front door.  With our move last summer, we gained the ritual of strolling down a driveway to retrieve our mail.  Short as the walk is, it has become an event.  We walk.  We stroll.  We scooter.  We bike.  Sometimes it's a chore.  Sometimes more.  But, I welcome adding this to our list of rituals.

As I consider our many rituals, I must acknowledge that they are superimposed on a what could easily be considered quite a chaotic foundation.  We are always working towards a state of order and accomplishment, but we certainly never get there.  Does anyone really?  But, in large part, that is why I reach for these rituals, pick them up out of obscurity.  Their light makes sense of the chaos and keeps us, or certainly me, afloat.

First Snow

In the midst of unseasonably dry and warm weather, I am thinking longingly back to our first snow of the season.  Remembering the snowman and snow angels here is my blog form of a rain dance.