The ideas have been imagined and executed – or abandoned. Everything has been woven, stitched, baked, written, painted, or stuffed. Each grandchild has made a gift for a parent.
Everything has been wrapped and placed under the tree and what took weeks and weeks of preparation was happily and thoroughly opened in cheerful abandon in a matter of minutes. We are not a family who carefully opens gifts one at a time to ohh and ahh. More likely, we’re the sort of family to make and give gifts and at the time of opening exclaim, “Oh, I love it! I’ve always wanted one! What is it?”
With ten of us at home (and so missing those who aren’t!) there’s a lot of gift giving and general chaos ensues. I’m happy to sit back and watch. My work began in October. Everything from here on out is icing on the cake. But I do have to admit to looking forward to some quiet days before returning to the rhythm and routine of the New Year.
Part of my love of the New Year is not only looking forward but also in taking time to reflect. For those of you who read this blog with any kind of frequency (and, thank you!), it might be fun to get a year end update about some of the projects that I’ve written about.
First, the white deer is still in the woods around Lake Lanier. She is startlingly obvious. While her colleagues are almost hidden in the brown leaves and branches, she stands out like a beacon. Unfortunately, at the moment, she seems to be limping. We pray that it is not a lasting nor debilitating injury. It is still such a thrill to see her.
Okay, the whole idea of growing flax to get the fibers, spin them into thread and weave a handkerchief? Ha! Total flop. The flax seeds germinated and bloomed but that was about the limit to my success. I needed to be growing about 100 times as much as I did grow, I couldn’t get the “retting” process down to extract the fiber. I don’t have a spinning wheel…..I’ll save you further details.
But, on the other hand, the mass and mess of hand dyed silk thread that my sister brought me from Thailand? I finally, after weeks of untangling, wove it into a really beautiful scarf.
And, in spite of my dire predictions about the effects of a difficult long, hot summer, it seems as if the garden survived after all. Lenten rose, English primrose and forget-me-nots are all already putting forth new growth for the spring. Of course, time will tell if everything survived but the signs are hopeful. Nature’s ability to heal Herself continues to be a miracle to me. Let’s give Her all the help we can.
It seems that the garden (and maybe life itself), like Christmas is a happy jumble of successes and challenges. Some ideas come to fruition but the vast majority are only beautiful and functional in my own mind. Some things worked out, others did not. But I think that the most important thing is to celebrate every success, no matter how small, with joy and to meet every challenge with imagination and energy and love. As my friend the Buddhist monk told me, “when in doubt, love more.”
Happy New Year to all of you.
“When in Doubt, Love More” has been my mantra all year. Such a good one!