I have shared this little virtual Christmas card on my blog before (I received it from a dear sweet friend several years ago), but it is just so very meditatively “Christmas Eve Simple Peaceful” that I thought I would post it again.
Bethlehem‘s in sight!
Robert and I live in an old 1800’s apartment building in Historic District Savannah, so we don’t have much garden space. But we do what we can. (Correction: HR manages most of the “doing.”)
Here’s our little Japanese maple as she decided to “seasonally change” her outerwear recently.
Isn’t she gorgeous?!
I told her, EXCITEDLY, that she was simply LOVELY in her shimmering gold, thinking she would receive the compliment graciously.
And she did. Sort of. The she smiled, as wise sentient beings often do and said with patience (which wise sentient beings often have): “Neal” (I was thrilled she knew my name), “seasonal change, as you call it, is a part of life. We all go through it.”
“And sometimes it strips you bare.”
My smile drooped a bit. I wasn’t really keen on that part of our convo.
“It’s a part of life,” she said with no trepidation in her voice.
Maple got me to thinking, and I know I have probably used this poem far too often in my blog, but it SO resonates with me, especially as I’m getting … older and “seasonally changing.”
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
— Robert Frost
Here are a few of Robert’s photos of Maple and her “seasonal change.”
May we all “seasonally change” so gracefully.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. Enjoying an Awesome Anniversary Meal at Savannah’s The Grey restaurant.
2. This little happy bringer I saw in a restroom recently.
3. A wonderfully festive little day trip to Days of Creation Christmas Tree Farm over in Jesup GA.
4. Our annual Holiday Lunch with ex-wife Donna at the very touristy, but still loads of fun Pirates House restaurant across the street from HR and me.
5. Simple Christmas Pretty.
May you find some simple holiday joy this weekend.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. This old tree we saw near us on a Thanksgiving morning walk in Savannah’s Colonial Park Cemetery.
Do you see what I see on his trunk?
In the lower half, there’s a Big Bunny with gigantic upward ears!
And if you forget the bunny and look again at the entire trunk, there’s a Brown Monster with a three-pronged crown, green tongue and menacingly raised arms! Watch out!
2. On the other hand, here’s a quartet of happily handsome fellows: son-in-law Scott and three grandsons Jack, Gabriel and Daniel searching for the perfect Christmas tree.
3. A bountiful Thanksgiving Feast yesterday.
4. Moments in life when you feel JOY.
5. And finally, I’m happily thankful for HR.
May you have a BIG weekend ahead!
A Few Things for which I Give Thanks:
1. My breath. In. Out. In. Out.
2. This trash I saw yesterday morning in our alley.
Couldn’t that be in an art gallery? The browns, grays, beige, white.
Or is my old age catching up with me?
3. Yummy lunch at Cracker Barrel with Robert’s daughter and son.
4. Grandson Gabriel starting AS A FRESHMAN on his high school VARSITY basketball team.
5. Always, ALWAYS, having enough food to eat. (Everybody doesn’t.)
6. Shoes.
7. Living so close to the ocean.
8. The privilege of voting (even when it doesn’t go our way).
9. The ability to WALK. What a blessing!
10. Indoor plants.
11. All of you fellow bloggers.
Tell me, what are you thankful for on this beautiful day?
So for this Sunday evening before Thanksgiving, I was thinking about what the holiday is actually all about and ran across this little meditation on giving thanks and embracing gratitude …
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. A young HR’s new photo frame I recently found.
2. An overflowing citrus tree near us here in downtown Savannah.
3. My Arthritis Pain. Okay, that needs explanation. I’m Happy that I have a body. A body including wrists, knees and a lower back, all with the ability to FEEl.
Does that make any sense at all?
4. A wonderful gathering at our church Wednesday evening to help process and manage anxiety that some of us are feeling concerning the election.
5. A bookish bench we saw recently along the Augusta GA Riverwalk.
May you find a place to sit joyfully this weekend.
Today my beautiful Savannah hosted the inaugural Every Woman’s Marathon, with over 7000 female runners and about 140 males (well, they wanted to be inclusive).
The finish line, after the 26.2 miles, ended just outside our front door.
Looking out my second-floor window, I saw women of every ethnicity, age, body type and physical ability running, running, running toward the finish line.
Toward the finish line of equality.
Toward the finish line of a woman’s marathon being just as significant (more?) as a male-dominated marathon.
For some reason, I became obsessed with this race. Every now and then walking down my stairs out onto East Broad Street to see the goings-on.
A few hours into the marathon, Robert and I walked over to the finish line and added our voices to the incredibly loud “You-Did-It!” for a multitude of women (and a few men) from all 50 states and 12 countries pushing toward a physically difficult finish.
Later, after the race, young volunteers from the Every Woman’s Marathon team were walking around picking up trash and putting them in garbage bags. Outside our place, directly in front of HR’s little tree garden, a young man’s bag burst, and all the trash spilled out!
I saw this, looking (nosily) out the window. Robert suggested that I run down and give him one of our trash bags. I did. He was so very grateful, thanking me profusely.
I walked back into our hallway, and heard the young man say to his buddy, “That nice old man really helped me, giving me that trash bag.”
I’m fine with that, just helping empty the trash.
Because we have certainly created a whole bunch of trash over the eons.
But Truth still runs
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. Scrumptious beignets at Huey‘s, a New Orleans style restaurant on the Savannah River near us. (Well, not literally ON the river.)
And here’s HR, tackling the steep stairs heading back home.
2. Finding, at a Little Library (do you have those where you are?) over in Hinesville, Georgia, a delightfully funny children’s book that I used to read to my daughters when they were little ones.
3. The ability—and privilege—of being able TO READ. What a blessing!
4. Grandson Daniel singing “Bring Him Home,”accompanied by the Savannah Country Day School Orchestra at their Veterans Day assembly on Monday.
Here’s a fifteen second Instagram post:
5. Robert, ex-wife Donna and me, heading to our yearly beginning-of-the-holidays traditional lunch at St. John Episcopal Church here in Historic District Savannah …
St. John’s Green-Meldrim House next door, where the luncheon is held …
… has a fascinating history. Here are a few tidbits:
May a few tidbits of fascination find their way to you this weekend.
NealEnJoy 