#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
Certainly, it’s the busiest day of the year. Christmas Eve! Busy, yes, but in a nice, cozy way. A little shopping, a little baking, a little playing with the special one; a bit of cleaning, lots of wrapping. All with the awareness that it’s the one year anniversary of our Christmas Eve fire. And, here we are in our renovated home, together and happy. I did walk a bit today. It was clear, sunny, bright and dry, and very very cold. The special one bundled up to go with me and Charlie to the river. It wasn’t a long outing, but we spent some time looking at the ice and appreciating being outdoors. Everything that needed to get done got done. As it always does. And I made a lovely dinner and we all sat down together in front of the fire and everyone appreciated what I had cooked; my mother’s (Julia Child’s) chicken in wine sauce. My youngest and I did a reading/performance of A. A. Milne’s poem, “King John’s Christmas,” and then he was asleep so Santa can come down the chimney (after we turn it off!) After all the evening of wrapping, my youngest had planned a ritual in honor of the anniversary of the fire, to thank and bless the house. We started indoors at the new fireplace. The feature was gratitude for water; the water that saved our house. And we bundled up and went into the yard we stood in at this time a year ago, watching the fire engines and smoke and hoses. What an absolutely stunningly clear sky! A dry cold, and brilliant night. We walked to the brook and broke some ice to fill the pitcher with water we poured in places around the house that we were grateful for. We closed again by the new gas fireplace where we warmed ourselves back up. And we all thought of Suzi, whom we lost last July, who first came to us on Christmas Eve—our surprise puppy, so many Christmases ago. Ah, Suzi. You’re missed. We were blessed to have you for thirteen years, our great friend. Wishing a Merry Christmas to all of you, dear readers, who celebrate. Let us all sleep well and deep on this cold winter night.
