Happy New Year Friends!
I enjoy this time of year almost as much as the start of the school year and I buy just as many school-supplies. Bring on the pens and notebooks. (More on that below*). Yes, I’m “retired”, but the newness of the year does bring a fresh energy following the quiet and lovely pace, a little slower this year, of Christmas. It’s still “Christmas Tide” and my house still has its party clothes on and I’m here for it.
How did Christmas go this year? See the picture below. This is the second year in a row that Steve and I have tackled a 1000-piece Christmas puzzle. We are not normally puzzle-people, but something about the colorful, joyful, self-contained-ness of the project is something we apparently like. And for the second year in a row, we have completed the whole thing only to find not one, but TWO missing pieces. I could blame the manufacturer, but I fear the blame is more accurately ascribed to our four-footed-cardboard-chewer. (I blamed him last year as well and apparently neither of us has learned our lesson!)
But in other ways, this puzzle mirrors our holiday this year: our first Christmas without Dad. He is definitely a “missing piece” in our lives and one whose presence doesn’t go unnoticed. Mom is recovering well from her shoulder surgery, but without Dad. We are planning a large whole-house repair for her, but without Dad. Christmas dinner was delicious this year, but without Dad. You see the pattern, right? Even so…look at the puzzle again. There is color, life, variety, texture, and delight here. Life goes on even around and in spite of the missing pieces. Would the puzzle be better if they were there? Of course! Can we ignore the fact that they are gone? Of course not! I think Dad would be pleased that we remember him and think of him but in the end, we carry on. He was never one to shirk a challenge so I imagine he would appreciate the way our family continues to make our way forward, together, in his absence. So I guess I have learned one lesson: an imperfect puzzle isn’t a worthless puzzle. (I’ll leave it to you to figure out where the pieces go; there are 2 of them adjacent.)
Since this is also the time of year for reviews and recaps (I’ll spare you more of those), let me just say again how thankful I am for you who subscribe and read my occasional words here. It’s my desire to create something that is valuable, worthwhile, uplifting, informative, humorous…
If that’s not specific enough, I’ll defer to the words of English poet Thomas Hardy in “The Darkling Thrush”:
“An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.”
I think I’ve found my new mascot. Aged, yep, and if you saw my hair in the morning… blast-beruffled pretty much nails it. But here’s the thing - there is nothing stopping any of us - no matter how frail or gaunt (and I’m not in THAT category) from using our God-given gifts to bless this world we’ve been given. There’s plenty of gloom out there so let’s fling our souls upon it. Joy is worth fighting for.
Blessings and Welcome Home!
Renée
*My friend Andrew Kern is starting a note-taking course over on his Substack: Elvis and the Philosopher. It promises to be interesting and helpful. Maybe this will be the year I actually keep track of the books I read!
Happy New Year!