The Little Things

I LOVE Christmas. I love the whole season - the decorations, the cards, the gifts, the parties, the celebrations, the hustle and bustle...I look forward to it every year.

Since no one seems to give out calendars to newborns, we're a 24/7 operation. Which includes holidays - and this year, Christmas Eve was mine. My mom still has a hard time grasping the concept of why everyone needs to take their turn working holidays, but that's a different story.

It might not sound like fun, working on Christmas Eve - and during a blizzard no less - while everyone else is celebrating with their families. But fun or not, yesterday being at work was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Her 90 minutes were spent with her family, making her know just how very loved and cherished and beautiful she was. And that deserves to be preserved and remembered. Given the combination of the weather and the holidays, there wasn't an actual photographer available.

But since I was working, my schedule was wide open.

There are other places that might have been more fun than work on Christmas Eve, but I'm still pretty sure that I was exactly where I was meant to be.

I hope that your holidays are filled with love, laughter, family, friends, and that the season shines for you in a million small and beautiful ways...Merry Christmas!

Welcome to May

There are things about Winter that I like. I love the snow, I love Christmas. But, by the time Spring gets here, I am ready for the change. For the warmer weather, for things to turn green, for sunny days and blue skies.

And now?

I am ready to say goodbye to April. April is usually the beginning of the real spring weather around here -- short sleeves, light jackets, sometimes even shorts. The sun shines, the sky is blue and the flowers begin to bloom.

But this April? Has been rainy and gray, which actually seems almost fitting, because it has also been filled with sadness. I have spent too much time at funerals, too much time saying goodbye. And I? Am tired.

Grief is exhausting.

So now May? May is a second chance for spring to come. To fill the days with sunshine and blue skies. And hope...May is also full of hope...