Friday night grateful moment

Wow, Christmas on a Friday, just in time for a grateful list? That doesn't happen every year, eh? Yep, that would be me, full of turkey and stating the obvious. Ah. That Perfect Bite, it does really exist.

This week I'm grateful for:
*A lovely Christmas with husband and the parents. It has been a wonderfully mellow day, nobody doing anything too strenuous. Well, lifting those stockings off the fireplace took a little doing, but Ma handled that job quite beautifully.

Ma also cooked an amazing Christmas dinner, which has turned me into a turkey-coma sofa blob, quite happily. See evidence of said dinner below.


*I'm grateful for my Christmas presents, of which there are probably too many to mention. I am indeed an indulged girl. Christmas so far has been broken up in to pieces--with brother and family, with husband's family, now with my mom and dad, and we still have a chunk to do with Seth when we see him at the first of the year--many fun and ribbon-shredding moments!

*A pre-Christmas visit with my Grandma and Aunt Bobbie in Kelowna. I had been hoping for snow, what with it being *Canada* and all, but apparently that was not to be. Sigh. But it was lovely, as always, to see them, and we had some good games of Scrabble. Uncle Ben, my grandmother's brother-in-law, came in for an afternoon visit too, and he roundly trounced us at Rummicube.

*The sound of the ferries. Love that horn (when it's not right overhead!).

*The sunrises and sunsets here on the island. It's been spectacular. If it can't snow (yes, that again), I guess I'll take the sunshine.

See this:
This is what I've been wishing for. I think I will be wishing awhile...

*My new stack of blank books, journals, daybooks. There will be NO excuse for me not being completely on top of it, in line, on task, meeting deadlines, achieving goals, blah blah blah in 2010. I am well equipped to take on the world!

*Meeting up with old friends. I had breakfast and a wild pile of coffee with an old friend from elementary school this week, one of the days I was in Kelowna. Well, we went to the same school, but as you might remember from those days yourself, you aren't often friends with those in the grades above you... and she was TWO above mine. Oh wow. To me in those days she was larger than life, full of spunk and verve, and we agreed after our breakfast that this was the longest we'd chatted, ever (all two hours of our catching up!), even though we've probably known each other since 1977 or thereabouts. Once again, thanks to the power of Facebook.

*Philopena. I think we have about a half-dozen games going right now in the house, every different permutation possible. Wish me luck in the morning. I want to collect lots of prizes at Butchart Gardens tomorrow. We are going to take a little day trip to the big island tomorrow, to see the Christmas displays at Butchart... very much looking forward to that.

*Peace and quiet on the island. So quiet. Other than those ferry horns...

*To have had some really great times with Seth at Thanksgiving and these weeks leading up to Christmas, so not being with him today was pretty much OK. Not great. Not wonderful. But workable. And when I remembered that by mutually-agreed-upon negotiation, we have had him with us for three out of the last four Christmases, I had to smile to myself. I'm a greedy mom, tis true. I would never argue with that statement.

*Chocolate. I am not quite the chocolate freak I once was, but this time of year my choco-tolerance goes up and I'm a happy chocolate eater. Hedgehogs especially!

*I'm especially grateful for the entire season Christmas and the pause it provides to reflect on all we have to be grateful for, from the micro to the macro, and most of all for the Symbol of the Season. Tucked in between all the baking and the gift giving, there's a real opportunity to reflect on the bigger picture. Can't say I've paused and reflected as much as I should have or could have this season, but I have been contemplating ways to get more of that in the schedule for next year, and am ready to roll with that for 2010!

*Also grateful that holidays with the husband extend another week. Looking forward to kicking back and relaxing a bit, as well as doing some planning for 2010 and maybe even bringing some order to nooks and crannies of the house that have been sorely neglected in the holiday hubbub. And I do love the blank slate of a new year, even if I can't quite believe that 2009 has gone by so quickly. Whoosh.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! Oh, and I finally watched Miracle on 34th Street last night for the first time ever. It was quite sweet and I can't believe I made it to 41 without a viewing. Maybe next year I'll even watch White Christmas!