PHOTO: Mary van Balen
“Have a good evening,” Kim said as I left work last night.
“I will. I’m going to a Christmas dinner with some friends.”
“CHRISTMAS? Girlfriend, Christmas is over. We are getting ready for Valentine’s Day!” she said, smiling.
“When I was growing up, the tree went up on Christmas Eve and came down after the Epiphany. That’s January 6th. I like to savor the holiday.”
Savoring it I am. A kindred spirit, Ann still had decorations up. The living room was glowing with a Christmas tree; candles and poinsettias brightened the room where we gathered, but the most delightful adornment was the people around the table sharing good food, conversation, and coffee. As Emerson said, “The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.”
We moved from dinner to prayer, reflecting on winter and the graces is brings: Accepting the gift of “being” rather than “doing;” trusting in hope that rests in tired souls like seeds buried in the cold earth; learning how to wait for change with anticipation of possibilities rather than fear; crying tears for lost dreams of our own and of others; giving thanks for friends and their loving support; learning when to let go.
After sharing blessings with one another and swapping small gifts, we stood around the baby grand piano and sang Christmas carols. Ann’s small but powerful hands drew rich music from the instrument and we all sang with our hearts as well as our voices. Bass, alto, and soprano mingled and lifted spirits. I don’t know how many people besides choirs still come together to sing Christmas songs, but I am thankful to call some of them friends, and a most precious gift of the season that still has two days to go.
© 2011 Mary van Balen
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