6/25/14: Six Months Since Christmas, Six Months Until Christmas

When I posted “Six months until Christmas” on Facebook last year (I love counting down!) the dominant response burst back at me as groans and moans from folks who don’t want to consider Christmas yet.

This year I’ll just analyze it and consider this six month mark.

Half a year has passed since having my first Christmas with my nephew; he made Christmas much more fun with his screeches and smiles!
Snow crowned the day with sparkle, chocolate fudge made the day tasty, and watching the movie “Happy Feet” with my parents was hilarious.

What will six months from now hold?

I hope next Christmas sparkles with even more snow and laughter. I’ll live in the city then, where I can bake star cookies in my spacious third floor kitchen, and drink hot chocolate next to my Christmas tree. My nephew will be walking! My sister will be married and back in town visiting! I’ll go back to my old school for the Family Christmas Worship, and I’ll find out what my new school does to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
I’ve been through lonely, sad Christmases before, and I have hope that this Christmas will be the best one yet.

Summer Murk

The squish of muck between my toes
reminds me of childhood summers.
Of hours in the pond,
our fingerpads crinkling like raisins, mud in our hair from slime fights, and appetites on high from laughing, splashing, swimming so much.
Black-eyed Susans waving yellow and black on their stalks along the bank.
Deep blue sky, humidity that drove us to the pond, to bob and bounce. Buoyant, beaming faces glistening with murky pond water.