Home. The word itself makes me feel loved and happy. I feel protected and comfortable in our house, decorated for the holidays, full of love, warm and familiar. Every year, I have the opportunity to do the traditional things associated with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I pick and choose those activities that give me the most joy, and I don't do everything. Trying to do everything just makes me feel stressed and anxious. This year, we were traveling during Halloween and Thanksgiving, so I didn't decorate for either of those, nor did I make any of the specific favorite foods that I usually make or pass out candy. When we returned on December 5th, I prioritized getting the Christmas decorations up, since I usually do that on the day after Thanksgiving. We never have a tree; our first cats would have destroyed it, but I've gradually come to my current level of the holiday spirit. Seeing the lights and the festive decorations gives me a lift during a dark and cold time of the year. It's easy to become depressed here because of our near-constant cloud cover and rain, and our short days that are even darker under the clouds.
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| The hearth, with cedar garland and pine cones. |
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| The sunrise inspired me. |
