Ice covers our world for a couple of days. Trees break from the weight, cars slide into ditches, and heading out with my camera is done with a plea to him to come pick me up if I am not back in a few minutes. We are without power, off and on, and have no internet connection. But we were warm and had candles.
To be truthful, it is just the break I needed.
Soon the temperature rises, the ice and snow melt, and come Christmas day we gather with the kids as the rain pours outside. Santa finds his way, and there is way too much food. I feel blessed.
I have always loved the week between Christmas and the New Year’s Day. It is a time to pause and regroup. Take note of what worked, and what didn’t for sure, but more importantly I view it as a time to rest. Over the course of the week, the tree will come down, and the decorations will be boxed up. I will read, watch some TV, eat leftovers, maybe get in a couple of walks, and hopefully get to spend some time with Percy.
I will wake each day and reflect on these words from John O’Donohue, letting go of 2022 and stepping into 2023 with gratitude, hope and maybe a bit more clarity.
At The End Of The Year
As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.
The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.
Surprises that came awake
in forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.
The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.
The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.
Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.
We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.
-John O’Donohue