Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Thoughts

Christmas is really important to me. I enjoy the lights, the color, the special Christmas decorations that have been handed down from year to year. One of the most important ones is my nativity scene. I have to admit it’s probably not the most artistically perfect one. But it has such memories. I went to a two-room school on an island in Puget Sound. The year I was in seventh grade, the bus-driver/custodian expanded his duties to include art teacher. He took all of us kids in the “big room” (grades 4-8) down to the basement and guided us to make the manger from plywood and the people from plaster of paris molds. We varnished and painted to finish these works of art.
And Christmas for me is also about relationships. It’s for getting together with loved ones that are near me and hearing from Friends from afar. I so much love reading stories of what has happened with my friends in the past year. There’s such a sense of awe (God’s love?) in all of this.
And this year will be a year of great stories as we in the Pacific Northwest struggle with snow and ice for an extended period. Nothing has turned out the way we expected in this week before Christmas. As I write, I am essentially snow-bound with granddaughter Sophie because the snow in my apartment complex is so deep. In the meantime the traffic on the nearby freeway seems to be moving fine. But what a gift it has been, these days with Sophie.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
In Friendship,
Nancy

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