It's oh so quiet
"Every Christmas is last Christmas" - Clara Oswald (Doctor Who)
And it's true, Every Christmas is Last Christmas. So I hoped you gathered your loved ones tight this year. It might be their last or yours.
December makes me kinda nutty, especially if you know me IRL. The December doldrums. It's a fight to stay alive, to just breathe, to keep going. It's a sad time of year where emotions run rampant.
I lost my mom four years ago Dec 26th.
I stopped celebrating Christmas a long time ago. When you're parents are gone and you're favorite brother is, too, there seems no point in celebrating. In fact, it's one reason I detest December now. A myriad of other reasons, too. The list of detesting December is long.
This week I fell across a Facebook post about an Icelandic tradition.
From NPR:
"Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, with five titles published for every 1,000 Icelanders. But what's really unusual is the timing: Historically, a majority of books in Iceland are sold from late September to early November. It's a national tradition, and it has a name: Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood."
The article went on to say that:
"The culture of giving books as presents is very deeply rooted in how families perceive Christmas as a holiday," says Kristjan B. Jonasson, president of the Iceland Publishers Association. "Normally, we give the presents on the night of the 24th and people spend the night reading. In many ways, it's the backbone of the publishing sector here in Iceland."
A quarter of my Facebook feed posted about this; and like them, I was excited, too. I found myself with Sage inside Barnes & Noble on Christmas Eve. I told him to pick out some books and I had a loaded basket upon checkout. It's a tradition I'm starting and I hope to gather a few people into this next year. A new tradition since the old ones have vanquished.
Christmas was very quiet this year. I ran off with Sage very early morning to geocache at a nearby park. There were 3 new caches placed and we ran off to find them as first-to-finders. Being Xmas morn, the park was empty except for a few fishermen. We both scored FTF prizes in them...our first prizes...not every new one includes them so we were lucky this time. We enjoyed the peacefulness of the sunrise, the scores of wading birds, and plenty of jumping fish in the pond. Our shoes were drenched with morning dew. Fresh air and exercise and out in nature. Maybe this will become tradition, too.
Back home for coffee and a pastry that Sage had bought for us. He left for a while for Xmas celebrations with his family. I read for a while and since I was up ridiculously early decided to take a nap. The afternoon brought us an 8 mile ride on our fairly new bicycles. More stress relieving exercise and we caught a few more geocaches as well. Home we went and made baked chicken for dinner with a few sides and a bottle of merlot. The night finished piled on the sofa with the cats watching the Christmas Doctor Who special.
And it's true, Every Christmas is Last Christmas. So I hoped you gathered your loved ones tight this year. It might be their last or yours.
December makes me kinda nutty, especially if you know me IRL. The December doldrums. It's a fight to stay alive, to just breathe, to keep going. It's a sad time of year where emotions run rampant.
I lost my mom four years ago Dec 26th.
I stopped celebrating Christmas a long time ago. When you're parents are gone and you're favorite brother is, too, there seems no point in celebrating. In fact, it's one reason I detest December now. A myriad of other reasons, too. The list of detesting December is long.
This week I fell across a Facebook post about an Icelandic tradition.
From NPR:
"Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, with five titles published for every 1,000 Icelanders. But what's really unusual is the timing: Historically, a majority of books in Iceland are sold from late September to early November. It's a national tradition, and it has a name: Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood."
The article went on to say that:
"The culture of giving books as presents is very deeply rooted in how families perceive Christmas as a holiday," says Kristjan B. Jonasson, president of the Iceland Publishers Association. "Normally, we give the presents on the night of the 24th and people spend the night reading. In many ways, it's the backbone of the publishing sector here in Iceland."
A quarter of my Facebook feed posted about this; and like them, I was excited, too. I found myself with Sage inside Barnes & Noble on Christmas Eve. I told him to pick out some books and I had a loaded basket upon checkout. It's a tradition I'm starting and I hope to gather a few people into this next year. A new tradition since the old ones have vanquished.
Christmas was very quiet this year. I ran off with Sage very early morning to geocache at a nearby park. There were 3 new caches placed and we ran off to find them as first-to-finders. Being Xmas morn, the park was empty except for a few fishermen. We both scored FTF prizes in them...our first prizes...not every new one includes them so we were lucky this time. We enjoyed the peacefulness of the sunrise, the scores of wading birds, and plenty of jumping fish in the pond. Our shoes were drenched with morning dew. Fresh air and exercise and out in nature. Maybe this will become tradition, too.
Back home for coffee and a pastry that Sage had bought for us. He left for a while for Xmas celebrations with his family. I read for a while and since I was up ridiculously early decided to take a nap. The afternoon brought us an 8 mile ride on our fairly new bicycles. More stress relieving exercise and we caught a few more geocaches as well. Home we went and made baked chicken for dinner with a few sides and a bottle of merlot. The night finished piled on the sofa with the cats watching the Christmas Doctor Who special.