sacred idleness...reconnecting with loved ones who are far away

I have spent the last couple of days in bed with a painful back condition so when I was awake I wrote handwritten messages to my friends and family that are far away. I have been working/playing at my old dining room table and creating individual Christmas cards for each person I am hoping to remain connected in 2010. It does not sound like much but are our handwritten notes becoming a vanishing element in our human relationships? I love receiving mail...snail mail and decorated messages from a voice from my past. Tomorrow I am hoping to finish this task but in the meantime I have been away from the Internet. I have watched cheesy Lifetime Christmas movies and The Nativity Story and Christmas in Washington, D.C. The snow quietly fluttered outside my back door as the deer ventured closer to the house for some freshly chopped vegetables left from my cream of chicken soup we enjoyed for dinner. I opened the door to take a photo and they were immediately posing in a regal manner for their portraits. Yes these are the same creatures who devoured my small garden of lilies and hosta plants. I am still so mesmerized by these gentle creatures living on my hill that my memory fades with any thoughts of anger or disappointments. I am somehow amazed by their determination to survive against all odds in Nature and hunting season has just ended in our county. I secretly love have these silent guardians surrounding my home as I sleep during the night...they seem to love to curl up in the tall grasses right next to our front decks. Maybe next Spring I will be singing a different tune but for now we are all in a harmony and it is a true silent night.

Today was the first day of Winter's solstice and the shortest day in the year. Maybe we are supposed to listen with our hearts to the slowing down in the seasons. By being away for a while from the computer I found it easy to delete any frustration that may come my way and just enjoy being in quiet isolation. I am ready to return to my quilting by hand one stitch at a time and returning to a sense of organization in my living room and enjoy the soft flutter of candle light and the soft fragrance of a cinnamon and vanilla candle wafting through the room. Yes there are present to be wrapped and the side tables will need to be cleared in order to eat at the table but this is our home...flawed maybe yes...but our colors radiate in the warmth of the wooden log walls and warm wooden floors. Tomorrow is another day and hopefully Ken and I will both be stronger and ready to face the challenges the Christmas season holds for us all. The Nativity Story expresses the birth of a tiny baby who became the savior for mankind and he was born on a cold night in the straw and hay manger inside the stable. It seems to say it is not where we lay our heads down but what we share with the ones we love. Have a quiet and peaceful night lost in the dreams of Peace and harmony for all. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen