Well that happened quickly! Solstice and Christmas came and went by in the blink of an eye, my goodness. I didn't intend to spend so much time away from the blog (the same thing happened for me with Instagram!), but I'm glad that I listened to the pull inward that was tugging at my heart. I don't know why, but I'm grateful for it...whatever it was that forced me to bring it all close to home and close to heart this season. We said no to a few parties that we usually attend and always love - just for this year, we said - in favor of being home and a little more quiet than usual (though there isn't much actually 'quiet' about our house of seven). Maybe it's the shift in our family days this year - with nearly everyone in school and everyone's days more full than ever before - that called for a little extra home time. Or maybe it's all the driving that we do these days that made me dig my heels in about going anywhere we didn't absolutely have to go while on break. Or maybe it's just the noticing of how quickly my babies are becoming adults. Not all of them, I'm certainly not rushing anyone. But in just a few short week my oldest turns 18, with a slew of colleges he's making decisions between now, and well....I know how quickly the four after him will follow. This moment in our family life feels precious, with everyone living under one roof for not much longer. (Though ALL the kids tease me with that kind of talk when I get going...."Mom, he's just going to COLLEGE, he's not falling off the face of the earth!")
And so it is that we're having a lovely holiday break together at home, interspersed by a few family gatherings and outings here and there. There's been all the regular holiday goodness - our solstice bonfire, lots of peppermint bark, sugar cookies, games by the fire, knitting by more than just Mama, and the like. The backyard pond is awesome this year for skating, and that's been fabulously fun especially since we added lights and benches and a fire pit, and someone got a speaker for Solstice that's crazy loud out there but everyone is loving. As always, these moments are not 'perfect' (see the photo above for accurate representation), but they've been "perfectly us", and that's all I could ask for or possibly want.
And it isn't over! There are still a few more days before we return to the day to day of school and work and all the good fun that everyone has going on each day and every weekend. I hope I return to that with a slightly easier rhythm of breath, and a reminder that sometimes it's my job to slow it all down and bring everyone inward towards home. I'm hopeful about that. Until then....I'm stretching out this quiet holiday magic just as long as I can, and wishing the same for you!
