It is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I actually started this last Sunday, with a different first sentence, of course. I've been thinking all week of things I'm thankful for. I don't want to overlook the major, really important things, like my family, friends, health, living in a peaceful neighborhood with money enough for my needs and most of my wants. These are truly important and I am deeply grateful for all of them.

However, I find myself being thankful too for some of the more mundane things in my life that don't often make it into my prayers of thanks. For example, when driving in lousy weather I am so thankful for having really good wiper blades and the white lines that are painted on the side of the road that let's us know where the edge is. I love, love, love having such a wide variety of music available through ITunes and Pandora and almost nothing makes me happier than listening to music while putzing around on the computer. The small pleasure of putting something warm on when I'm cold brings shivers of delight. Pizza cutter---went to Italy where they serve you a whole pizza uncut with no pizza cutter so I now have a new appreciation for the magic wheel.

Another thing that I'm thankful for is other people decorating their houses for Christmas (or any holiday) because they put in the effort for everyone to enjoy---and to me, it's never gaudy or garish or over the top. It's not an art exhibit--its like a child trying to put all their happy feelings about Christmas into one crayon drawing. Like the first grade artists, some people are just a bit more exuberant and some a bit more restrained. But either way, it's a lot of work, and they do it for everyone to enjoy and for that I'm thankful.

And I'm most truly grateful to the people who read this bog and keep encouraging me to write. Your kind words mean a lot to me.

Christmas

Christmas is pretty much over at our house--except for the take down and clean up. What a wonderful season it was. My friend Dace says, at our Bible study group annual Christmas breakfast, "How rich we are!" referring to our friendships, families and general blessings. And so it was made evident to me over and over throughout the month of December.

So many people had a part in making a great. We started with the Holiday Stroll in downtown Red Wing the day after Thanksgiving. The merchants have treats and specials, Santa comes to town, there is a parade and fireworks and music and then we invite people over to warm up and have some soup. Next on the agenda is the Christmas cookie bake at church where we make about 8000 cookies for a youth fundraiser. It takes the efforts of about 40-45 people to get it all done in a day and a half and its a lot of work but a lot of fun too. Then my sisters and brother and I go for our annual day of shopping and fine eating. We always have a good time together and this year was no exception. Next came the Christmas program at church. No matter how chaotic the practices go, the program always comes together with only a few minor glitches--and they make it all the more memorable for all the parents and grandparents that come to watch. We had Secret Santa's at work--which is always fun (I'm going to write a whole posting on this soon). I'm still working on getting the Christmas cards done--which now turn into holiday cards, I guess.

Mr. Wonderful and I made it away overnight for our annual two day shopping trip. We started this tradition when the kids were little and have managed to do it every year--its a great recharge time for us, giving us time to walk around, holding hands, doing all that mushy stuff--and getting the shopping done too.

There are three things that intertwine to make Christmas special to me--the extra involvement with people due to the extra Christmas activities, the traditions of Christmas, and the Christmas story. It all comes together when I'm sitting in church and hear the story of the first Christmas being read from Luke--something in me settles and I have a sense of Christmas having arrived and all the busyness being done and everything quieting down.