Heading for Christmas

I am writing this while outside the wind is howling. It looks thoroughly unpleasant and I am not actually living in the parts of the country that are being hit the hardest this time. Currently lots of homes are without power because of storm Darragh with winds of 95mph and heavy rain. So, I should be thankful that I am in a warm space - but I don’t fully appreciate it. There is a clear link between my mood and the colour of the sky; and I am sure that in ancient times the winter celebrations were to counter this misery.

Out in Storm Darragh

This week, Danielle, the girls and I popped round to Sophie’s for a “tree lighting” ceremony. The log fire was blasting and it looked so lovely and festive. Thank you, Sophie – a big highlight of my week. I picked Ezra-Mae up from school the next day. She knew there was one of Sophie’s cakes waiting for her in the fridge if she had been good. Added to this, she has four Advent calendars which are turning her into a chocaholic. At least my homemade one has stuff other than chocolate in it – today was a Christmas tree stamp.

While driving home from Diane and Jeremy’s in the dark this week, I saw that Willen Lake has massive swans lit up – I must go and see them before Christmas. These are definitely an “Ah” opportunity. I managed to get a good look from the car as the traffic was chokka. I’ll brave the elements another time…

I realise I am getting on with my preparations far too slowly. The tree went up on the first. Now that I am essentially retired, I can spend all day doing something that took me no time at all. As a result, I put off til tomorrow what I could easily fit into today. I’ll get sorted by Christmas Day - I have to. I am making dinner for twelve plus a baby!

I always think of Christmas as a time to look forward to a better world. Making New Year Resolutions happens across many cultures. This year there is a lot to resolve on the home front. In other parts of the world, war is still raging. I have some of the war zones represented at my Christmas table  - Syria, Lebanon, Ukraine – but am missing other notable conflicts. One of my favourite Christmas songs is John Lennon’s one – I think it sums up a hopeful future. Perhaps we could spread the message.  

We might have a more cheerful time...

An early present from Nataliia