Wishing You All Joy
Dec. 25th, 2011 03:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thothmesI have finally finished wrapping and stuffing stockings, and fixing my lj from its disastrous unasked for, unheralded, sudden change from a three column style to a two column style, and now I have a moment to stop, gather my thoughts and speak to you all.
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not_a_zatarc and rgcraeg, I wish you both a belated happy birthday. I hope that everything came in actual birthday wrapping, and not slightly anticipatory Christmas wrapping, and that you each had a whale of a day.
And to all and sundry I wish a very lovely holiday, whichever one you happen to celebrate. The solstice is past, and for those of us up here in the northern climes, the long slow climb back into the light has begun, and for those of you in the summer hemisphere, the days will draw down. This process is a source of continual fascination to my Whirlwind, who asks frequently about what people would be doing on the other side of the world, and what time of year it is for people in the Southern Hemisphere. So I'm reminded fairly regularly that for some of you the Christmas season is cheek-by-jowl with your Midsummer's Eve.
We're culturally Christian here, which means there will be stockings and presents (my Muslim stepfather learned to play along years ago) and the singing of Christmas carols. And because in my family Christmas is a matriarchal holiday, we are all down here at my mothers, and there are siblings and nieces and nephew to visit with and enjoy.
The Whirlwind is still a True Believer, but is worried because due to the damage in the wake of tropical storm Irene, Santa was not at his local venue this year, and she wasn't able to sit in the great man's lap and tell him personally of all her nine year old desires and hopes. She's a little concerned that he won't get her anything as a result. After the holiday is safely done for the year, and the chances of her contaminating her cousins with apostasy is over, I'm going to have to have a little word with her. Nine is old enough. I've only put off having this chat because I didn't want her disillusioning any of her True Believer classmates, but this is getting silly.
In the meantime I told her about the year I was six and living in Greece, and very concerned because a)our 5th floor apartment had no fireplace, and b)I wasn't at all sure that he had my forwarding address. He managed to find me anyway.
So whether you celebrate Christmas, the Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or any of a host of other festivals, whether you are coming into winter or summer, as this year draws to an end, I hope you are all with the people you love, that you have joy and hope, that the walls that surround you ring with laughter and delight, and that the year to come will be better still. You have all brightened my life and I carry the pieces of you that you have shared with me through every day. I think of you all more often than you would think, and wish only the best for each and every one of you.
And so to bed!
not_a_zatarc and rgcraeg, I wish you both a belated happy birthday. I hope that everything came in actual birthday wrapping, and not slightly anticipatory Christmas wrapping, and that you each had a whale of a day.And to all and sundry I wish a very lovely holiday, whichever one you happen to celebrate. The solstice is past, and for those of us up here in the northern climes, the long slow climb back into the light has begun, and for those of you in the summer hemisphere, the days will draw down. This process is a source of continual fascination to my Whirlwind, who asks frequently about what people would be doing on the other side of the world, and what time of year it is for people in the Southern Hemisphere. So I'm reminded fairly regularly that for some of you the Christmas season is cheek-by-jowl with your Midsummer's Eve.
We're culturally Christian here, which means there will be stockings and presents (my Muslim stepfather learned to play along years ago) and the singing of Christmas carols. And because in my family Christmas is a matriarchal holiday, we are all down here at my mothers, and there are siblings and nieces and nephew to visit with and enjoy.
The Whirlwind is still a True Believer, but is worried because due to the damage in the wake of tropical storm Irene, Santa was not at his local venue this year, and she wasn't able to sit in the great man's lap and tell him personally of all her nine year old desires and hopes. She's a little concerned that he won't get her anything as a result. After the holiday is safely done for the year, and the chances of her contaminating her cousins with apostasy is over, I'm going to have to have a little word with her. Nine is old enough. I've only put off having this chat because I didn't want her disillusioning any of her True Believer classmates, but this is getting silly.
In the meantime I told her about the year I was six and living in Greece, and very concerned because a)our 5th floor apartment had no fireplace, and b)I wasn't at all sure that he had my forwarding address. He managed to find me anyway.
So whether you celebrate Christmas, the Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or any of a host of other festivals, whether you are coming into winter or summer, as this year draws to an end, I hope you are all with the people you love, that you have joy and hope, that the walls that surround you ring with laughter and delight, and that the year to come will be better still. You have all brightened my life and I carry the pieces of you that you have shared with me through every day. I think of you all more often than you would think, and wish only the best for each and every one of you.
And so to bed!
no subject
Date: 2011-12-25 10:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-26 07:45 am (UTC)I hope that yours was too, and that your brother's three had a wonderful time discovering a new way of experiencing Christmas. The holidays can be such a hard time in the years immediately following a loss. I hope that they were able to get through that aspect gracefully, and with a sense of having gained something along the way too.
And don't think I haven't noticed your recent spate of productivity. I am looking forward with great anticipation to diving into the new fics when I am home and have the time to do so without distractions!