Tis the Season

My, what a bad blogger I am! My blogging habits bear a striking resemblance to my adolescent diary keeping habits, characterized by brief bursts of intensity lasting about a week or so, and then a sparse desert of nothingness for months at a time. I apologize for my absence. I've been a busy little bee during the past month or more that I have neglected this space. Autumn and early winter are without a doubt my favorite seasons, and what with all the cider to be drunk and pumpkin pies to be baked and eaten, I've just been swamped. You understand.

And it's already the first day of December (!!!), so the holiday frenzy is creeping in. The tree and all the Christmas decorations went up the day after Thanksgiving, and our little cabin is simply magical. When I opened up the box of ornaments, I was so surprised to find, instead of the jumbled, tangled mess of family history that usually greets me, all of our ornaments neatly and carefully wrapped in tissue paper. I know, I couldn't believe it either. It's very unlike me to be so organized, and I secretly wondered what sort of little Type A elves had been in the storage shed rearranging my stuff. But then I remembered that last year, when it came time to take the tree down was not only the beginning of a new year, but also the beginning of my new life, staying at home with my little one. And so, without the pressures of the working world beckoning, properly storing Christmas treasures fell within the realm of possibility. Really, it was so much more pleasant, unwrapping each one, eagerly anticipating which one it might be, and the flood of stories and memories it would bring with it. It's amazing, the power those little trinkets have to bring smiles and tears and that oh so familiar ache in the heart that seems to permeate this season. For my daughter, who will be two in February, these holiday times are pure bliss and joy, full of twinkling lights, wonder, and sweet tastes and smells. For me, the wonder is still present, but the shadows of time creep in as well. At no other time of the year are joy and sadness so jumbled up together as we think about those we have lost and the bittersweet passage of time. And perhaps that's the ultimate beauty of this season.