December Days

As December flies by and Christmas waits just around the corner, here is how the holiday preparations are coming along at my house:

^ My Christmas cactus is totally on point. Brilliant pink buds began to open exactly two weeks before the big day, and the cascading blossoms could not be more festive. So glad I moved this baby closer to the window last August; she has never looked better. 

^ With wild enthusiasm and an immodest pat on the back, let me report that all of my Christmas packages hit the post office by December 13. That is a world record for me; my annual ornament workshop often runs straight through till the twenty-fifth, and my shipments often straggle out until the six, seventh or even eighth days of Christmas. Feels so good to finish early and get that monkey off my back. Huzzah!

^ As I was digging through the disheveled holiday bins at Target, I came across the last few stragglers of these geometric designs. Always seeking inspiration for my own annual ornaments, I decided to snatch them up though I wasn't keen on paying even the displayed sale price of $12 for the lot of them. At the self-check-out, I noticed they carried no bar code, no price tag, and I knew for a fact that these were the last of their kind in the entire store, so I whistled over the supervising staff member and asked him for guidance. 

He looked down at the treasures in my hand, paused a beat, and said, "Just take them." 

"Thank you," I said, "Merry Christmas."

"Same to you," he smiled.

And that was a very nice moment. 

^ Gracie has not been impressed with my late nights of ornament making and package preparing. By midnight, she is ready to go tuck herself into a warm comfy bed, and wonders why on earth I insist on standing out in the cold garage over my table full of paints and glitter throughout the wee hours of the night. Thankfully, some of my tasks can be done in the warm house, and my pup is grateful for her cozy spot on the couch. 

And I am thankful for her company and her patience. 

* * * * * 

Despite all these holiday preparations, I remind myself once again that Christmas is more than just a single day in late December. 

I remind myself again that Christmas is 

an attitude, 

a mindset, 

a commitment to peace on earth and goodwill toward man, 

every day of the year. 

May your busy December days be filled with the true Christmas spirit.