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Month: December 2023

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December 2023

Holiday Helpers

December 28, 2023 /
We all play the parts perfectly.  Oscar-worthy really.  My daughters (13 and 11) shuffle around the house excitedly until he is found.  They call out for me and I come either blinky-eyed on the weekend mornings or fairly distracted weekday morning while I finish slipping in my earrings.  “Max came” they will cry out.  “What? Where is he?  What did he do last night?”  And repeat until Christmas Day. Max the Elf is at mom’s house.  Chippy, recently more grown up and now called Charles, is at dad’s house.  Max is loving.  Chippy is mischievous.  Max thoughtfully brings little Christmas
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Reflections on a Holiday That Wasn’t

December 14, 2023 /
My Christmas tree died a week before Christmas.  The branches were weighed down to the floor in a giant 8-foot droop. The star on top tilted to the left along with the sagging sapless branches. I should have known it was a sign.  I should have known it would contribute to the sadness that would settle down over my usually happy holiday home. My daughters left my home the morning of December 19th and didn’t return until the late evening of December 26th.  It was my first attempt in 14 years at not being with my children on either December
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DECEMBER DUALITY 

December 1, 2023 /
Happy December! I proclaimed, evidencing both my December delight and my ingrained enthusiasm for beginnings.  Each December day is like opening the tiny cardboard panel on my advent calendar to discover some unknown surprise. A card with glittery red cardinals from a longtime friend. The scent of pine upon entering an office. The smoothness of the delicate handle on china cup covered with holly, reserved for use solely during these 31 days.  It is the month I celebrate my birth, and the world lights up to celebrate with me.  I will ooh and aah over colorful lights strung across porches of
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