At first, I planned to post a Christmas message in my blog. It would be one of those you-always-manage-to-make-me-cry messages that my daughter loves to complain about. There would be plenty of nostalgic references and allusions to my favorite Christmas songs. I would have invoked Dickens--or at least Karen Carpenter--in my original post! But this year is different. This Christmas calls for reality, not fantasy. For now, not then. For fresh, not stale. For Linda, not Karen. So instead of a traditional Christmas message, here are some great photos. They are some of my favorites from this year, this Christmas, this week. They remind me that life isn't a picture at all. It's actually a movie, a reel of film that plays until it's over. There are no second takes, no edits, no redos. These are the people and the things that I love, the life I have made for myself. I love the tree, even with the needles falling each time someone walks past it. I love the dusty curio cabinet that holds my family of owls. I love the scratched and dented, the worn, the imperfect. I love the taste of slightly burned ham rolls, the sink full of dishes, the bundles of wrapping paper that was carted to the dumpster hours ago. I'm not especially bothered by the empty checking account or the stack of bills on the table. For these few days in December 2011 I have managed to pause, to listen, to notice, to taste, to see, to breathe. I have tried to let go the useless fear, the worry, the aggravation. I have tried to focus on the peace of this season, a moment at a time, with all the exuberance I can muster in my imperfect body and soul. It is a gift, an incredible present, to simply be alive. What a gift!
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