Thursday, Gratitude 21

I am grateful for air travel.

Even after boarding zillions of planes, multiple flights every single year of my life, I cannot believe that I can hop on a plane in Austin, Texas, in the morning and — by that afternoon — be bowling with cousins in Wisconsin. It's kind of a Christmas miracle, isn't it? 

It brings to mind this video that I think we should all watch now and again. 
Right? 
Everything really is amazing.

Friday, Gratitude 22

And speaking of those cousins.
Wow. I'm blessed with extended family that isn't actually all that extended.
We're tight, intimate, and so interested in and amused by and happy with each other. 
The whole slew of us.
And if that's not enough, I'm blessed with that kind of family on both my maternal and paternal sides — aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews scattered the globe over but there for each other in all the most important ways.
I love you guys…

Saturday, Gratitude 23

I'm sitting here looking at a nearly-frozen lake and a dusting of snow. My Tall One is baking a cranberry-apple pie. Yesterday there were two hikes, multiple hops in and out of the hot tub, lots of reading, a couple of naps, and some Christmas carols.

I love vacation.
I love tradition and I love twists on tradition.
I love lights and trees and big meals and I really, really love holidays.

I know Christmas can cause stress and shopping mania and over-commercialization and all that.
But it can also give us a really good excuse to gather, to pause, to celebrate goodness.

May you all, in whatever tradition you live and belong, enjoy the spaciousness of this season….