Home for the holidays, sure enough

Last year I wrote about my disappointment at not being able to be in the new place by Christmas. 

It was good to remind myself that we can survive disappointment.

And to ponder how blessed we are.

And now we ARE in the new place - and very much enjoying it. 

And it's not just the two of us, but we are able to share the hosting fun with our daughter who brought her annual Christmas party home with her when she moved from Chicago.

What fun to all be together!

Lots of hanging out... 

And talking...

And eating...

And napping...

And reading...

Sure enough, there's no place like home for the holidays.

Traditions!!!

 Around this time of year my mind regularly revisits a boat-load of holiday memories and the traditions behind them.

Sometimes I take time to trudge way back to my childhood and walk across the road to Grandpa Frank’s house for Thanksgiving Dinner. I suppose we often had turkey with all the trimmings, but I especially remember the times when we had duck.  That has to be one of my favorite flavor memories.

Or I go back to Sunday mornings and find myself in the car with my dad as he drove his usual circuit to pick up a load of kids - and Mrs. Washington - for church. Mrs. Washington was a quiet little lady who worked as a house keeper for our bachelor neighbor over on the next corner and I remember her giving me a new pair of white socks every year for Christmas.

Thinking about Mrs. Washington's gift reminds me of two other old ladies in our church who also gave me little gifts.  I think it was Vera Cannon who lived on the corner across from our one-room country school...  or maybe it was Mrs. Johnson from the little burg of Snover - who gave me the dainty little hand-embroidered handkerchiefs through the years.  I still have a wonderful collection of lovely hankies - which take me back to those days and those sweet ladies.  I also still have a sturdy collection of the bigger and much more practical red bandana style manly handkerchiefs that my farmer dad used.  Now there's another tradition that created a significant memory!

Or I might find myself on Christmas morning once again discovering an orange in the toe of my Christmas stocking.  Those "stockings" were simply our real socks that we wore regularly - clean ones, of course.  In later years I made fancy stockings with names of each family member - which could contain lots more goodies!

There came a time when I realized that we might have to let go of a cherished tradition - or at least change it up a bit.  Like after big brother Dave met Becky at college and of course they wanted to spend Christmas together with both of their families - which meant it might not be on December 25 anymore.  Instead they figured out what dates they could come to the farm and we adjusted celebration calendar.  We simply had new dates for our family Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.  Same traditions, new dates.

Then came little ones of the next generation and more new traditions.  For example, even though we lived just around the corner from our family home, it was decided that we should all be there to hang our stockings on Christmas Eve - no matter the calendar date - and to celebrate the fun of Christmas morning together.

Our own daughters now remember when we started to change the dates on OUR family calendar to accommodate THEIR new family connections.

They also remember the year when a new foster daughter was placed in our home on Christmas Eve - which meant yet another great shuffle - not just dates and times, but maybe even a re-distribution of gifts!  Yikes!

Yes, during the foster kid years, there were lots of variables in holiday traditions. And several new stockings added to the collection.

Then came the day - after 40 years in that big house with the giant Christmas tree and any number of stockings hung on the mantle - when we would no longer celebrate in that place.  The tree farm was sold and we would move our traditions to other sites.

It was really hard to let go of that amazing place and all of the traditions there - for all of us.  The girls consoled us by saying that we could take the memories and the spirit of the place with us.  That we would find new places to follow our traditions - a bit like we had shifted our calendar - moving Christmas Eve and Christmas morning to new dates.  And so we did.  

Actually we had already done that - for one year when we lived in the Dominican Republic.  There would be no real Christmas tree but somebody gave us a fake one. We wouldn’t have a fire in the fieldstone fireplace Bob had built so the girls made a paper replica and taped it to the wall. We had not packed the fancy Christmas stockings in our suitcases, so we reverted to using real socks.  Our beloved traditions evolved into new ones.

Life changes.

We adjust our calendars and create new traditions.

What a wonder it is to have so many beautiful memories to cherish.

Photo cred: Bob Sims, Santiago, en la Republica Dominicana, 1989...

Home for Christmas?

"Do you think you’ll be in the new place by Christmas?"

...

People had been asking us that for awhile.

During September & October it seemed possible.

Probable even.

Bob finished up the last items necessary for final inspections and called it in.

Normal protocol is for the city inspectors to make an appointment within a couple days. Instead it turned into 3 weeks and then 6 weeks and now 3 months - which will be the end of January.

Christmas music “promises” I’ll be home for Christmas.

Where the love light gleams...

Because there’s no place like home for the holidays.

Each delay was disappointing - but we worked hard at packing our stuff and getting it ready to haul across the street as soon as we got the word.  Since we really had no idea what day or week that might be, the packing strategy was more than a little stressful.  

And now we know.

We won’t be moved in by Christmas.

Fortunately, we do still have a home.

We can still be at home for Christmas.

Admittedly with many of our possessions packed and stacked, we did not pull out most of the usual holiday decorations.  

But we have a place to sleep with a roof over our heads - unlike many people - and we are grateful.

And we do have experience at transitional holiday lodging...  

Like those couple years when we were able to live in the historical log cabin at our beloved Christmas tree farm!  

That was bonus.  

What a fun place to live!

After selling the tree farm and before hitting the road again, a room in our daughter’s basement became home for us for a few weeks.  

And this place has been a wonderful home for us through seven Christmases.  

Wait; make that eight now…

So... even though we couldn’t move into the new place quite yet, we realized we could celebrate by enjoying a family dinner there together. 

It had to be simple... so we just did Chinese take-out.  

And yes, it was fun.  

It was a chance to start to feel more at home there.

To experiment a bit and figure out what works where.

To discover that indeed the love light gleams in that place.

Sure enough, we are able to be home for the holidays.  

Even though it isn't quite the way we had hoped.

Hidden Hollows Tree Farm

Ten years ago today, we sold the tree farm. Such a significant time on our calendar and in our hearts. Most definitely a pivot point as we turned the corner that would shift the trajectory of our lives.

We had built that house when we were just kids.  It was home for our girls as well as a whole bunch of foster kids, some international students, and a few oldsters as well. It provided safe haven for many, prompting someone to christen the place as Rivendell.  

"That house was a perfect house

whether you like food or sleep

or storytelling or singing

or just sitting and talking

or a pleasant mixture of them all.

Merely to be there was a cure

for weariness, fear, and sadness."

- JRR Tolkien

***

Then came the Christmas trees - and the log house for selling them. In later years the farm was used as a retreat center.  And for the last few years, we moved into the Christmas cabin and rented out the big house.

On that date 10 years ago, I gathered a few thoughts to commemorate the occasion.

"And here we are.  The RV is stocked and almost ready to go. A few select pieces of furniture are nestled into the little "apartment" in our daughter's basement which serves as a landing spot between our travels. Many cherished items have been sold and hauled away. The rest of our possessions are being carefully packed and stacked in a 10' x 20' storage unit for the next few months or years - while we do a bit more wandering and exploring."

Selling that amazing farm was hard but turned out to be such a good thing for us.  We cherish the memories and are grateful for the years we had there.

 

On this date...

 Days often seem ordinary while we are in the midst of living them.  It may not be until we look back that we realize their significance.  I am often fascinated to remember what happened on a given date back through my history, noticing the good times and hard times.

For example this date, December 23, will probably always be remembered for the cancer diagnosis I received in 2003.  Not what I would have wished to hear two days before Christmas, but that’s what happened.  I look back and remember the hard days and weeks that followed such difficult news, but I also remember many good things that came during that journey and I am grateful.

…

Ten years ago today was another momentous date… although we were not fully aware of the significance at the time.  Oh, we suspected that this MIGHT well be our last Christmas in the big house.  We had been deliberately downsizing for over a year by then and were taking intentional steps to loosen our grip on the beloved tree farm, but we didn’t yet know the timetable.  So we noticed and enjoyed the moments of that day… which now pop up as Facebook memories…

• I am now officially the grandma of a toddler.  Little munchkin has taken off since I last saw her.  Those tentative steps have gained confidence & direction & determination.  The best way to describe what she does is "toddle" - so stinkin' cute!
• For the first time ever, I rocked my granddaughter in the chair that my mom rocked me in when I was little!  
• Also watched those two (my granddaughter and my mom) get acquainted.
• Little Lina’s first Christmas at the tree farm - maybe first and only.  So bittersweet.
• That gorgeous Hidden Hollows fir tree in that amazing room!

Scott Schupbach photo, Used by permission

There would be other memories of this date, December 23 - mostly just normal stuff and some memorable.  Just the stuff of life.

Like a couple years later on this date when that toddler had become a big sister and was very serious about her job of redistributing candy canes on their Christmas tree.

Like the different places we lived…  the Christmas cabin for a couple years, basement apartments for a couple years, and eventually this house in a historical district…

On this date…  lots of memories… and still more dreams for the future.

Wonder what this date will hold in coming years…

Let it begin with me...

Let there be peace on earth - and let it begin with me.

I’ve always liked that song.  Seems like a noble sentiment - and I have fairly easily assented to the challenge it contains. 

So I didn’t mind when I saw it listed as the last song in the Holiday Pops program. 

But then Angie Hendershot from ABC 12 talked about how desperately peace is needed in our world these days and challenged the crowd to sing it together while pondering how to work for peace on earth.  I thought it might be pretty inspiring to be singing these lines together with hundreds of neighbors.

Okay; I might have gotten a little choked up.
May this be my solemn vow, huh?

Wow.

On this date

Sixteen years ago today…  2003...  Cancer diagnosis

'Twas  a scary time for sure.

Since that year, lots of other memories on this date...

2011

• Officially the grandma of a toddler...  Little munchkin has taken off since I last saw her. Those tentative steps have gained confidence & direction & determination. The best way to describe what she does is "toddle" - so stinkin' cute!
• Also enjoyed rocking this little grand-daughter in the chair that my mom rocked me in when I was little!
• We didn't know it then but that was our last Christmas in that room. The last time the kids came home to Hidden Hollows for Christmas!

2012 and 2013 - living in the log cabin and feeling thankful

2014 

• Living in Angie's basement
• Lying on a table in another hospital for yet another medical test

2015 - living in another basement, somebody else's basement that we rented for two months...

2016 - living in an apartment - grateful to be near family

2017 and 2018 and now - living in our new/old house and loving life

And so they come and go...  good days and bad days through the years.  I am so grateful as I look back on them all.