Merry Christmas Eve, All!

So, many of you are (hopefully) stepping AWAY from the computer and stepping TOWARDS your loved ones and an evening of traditions, music, joy, and peace. This is Christmas Eve, after all!

I am actually a bit alone at the moment-- Joe is at work, doing a 3-11pm shift at the hospital that he couldn't get out of, and Noah is working on taking a nap. So as the sun slants into my bedroom, the first sun we've seen in a few days, I get to sit and listen to Christmas music on LOW while I finish up a few loose ends online.

Our little family will be having a quiet Christmas Eve and morning, just the three of us. When Joe gets off work, I'll have some nibbles and hot cocoa waiting for him and I plan to snuggle on the couch with him and read the Christmas story out of the Bible... then snuggle down for a long winter's night... And in the morning, we'll have a small, delightful present session, some German pancakes (Joe's family tradition), and then after Noah's morning nap, we'll head out to Columbia for a few days.

So far, it is shaping up to be a completely marvelous Christmas.

Tonight, while I am still alone, I get to try something I've wanted to do since first reading about it in "Simple Abundance" over seven years ago.... a little token, a small action that has always called to me, but I have managed to excuse myself out of every single year. Until tonight. Being alone, being on the edge of a hard area of the city, working to find the TRUTH in Christmas, I am going to prepare and set out a "Nativity Tray".

""Legend has it that on the night of the Nativity, whosoever ventures out into great snows bearing a succulent bone for a lost and lamenting hound, a wisp of hay for a shivering horse, a warm cloak for a stranded wayfarer, a garland of bright berries for one who has worn chains, a dish of crumbs for all huddled birds who thought their song was dead, and sweetmeats for little children who peer from lonely windows --whosoever prepares this simple abundance tray --shall be proffered and returned gifts with such astonishment as will rival the hues of the peacock and harmonies of heaven..."
-Sarah Ban Breathnach

I'll make my own modifications...."modernize" it a bit... But I will do it. And I won't be doing it for the "astonishing gifts". I need to take time tonight to "find" Christmas. And I am deeply excited for this little action. I hope it is found and well-received.

So. That is MY holiday.

Here is hoping YOURS is filled to the brim with joy.