Features
December deserves more days
GLASGOW — There’s so much to do and enjoy during these 31 days that it seems to me, December could use more than the maximum period allocated to a month. I’d like to take a few days from the often sluggish March and add them to December’s number.
March has never been one of my favorite months among the year’s dozen. As the days travel through the year, March is that period when the calendar presses in the clutch and changes gears from winter to spring. Its winds often seem confused, coming this way and that, trying to decide just what to usher to us. I prefer a month that contains more consistency.
Maybe it would help if December weren’t so dark during most of its hours. More light would give us the illusion that its days are longer and encourage us to get more done.
Then, too, living where we do on this side of the sun, December’s temperatures are usually cold enough to lure us into hibernation.
Despite its busy, short, cold days, December is here with all its merriment. I’m happy to embrace these special times!
We have a variety of opportunities to celebrate with special days scattered throughout the year’s calendar. Our year gets underway with a day wherein we pause to evaluate our past and make resolutions for our future. Then there are days devoted to fathers, mothers, lovers, and important people and events from our history. There are even days to pull pranks and give thanks.
Individually, we mix into these holidays and observances, the birthdays and anniversaries and other significant days from our own families.
At our house, though, none of the other days are as anticipated and welcomed as that most fondly observed day in December, Christmas. For us, it’s the coziest time of year, and a time when our senses are most satisfied.
Inside the house we feel the warmth from the crackling blaze in the fireplace, as well as the warmth in our hearts from being surrounded by family and friends at Christmas.
We delight in the smells of the spices in the pumpkin bread and cider.
I always associate the Christmas season with the cold, creamy, smooth taste of custard, made even more delicious by dunking in sweet jam cake.
Our soundtrack of Christmas features cheerful songs, the giggling of grandchildren, and plenty of “ho, ho, hos!”
Our eyes behold vibrant reds and greens of the wrapped packages under a Christmas tree, topped off with decorations like the icing on that jam cake.
If I don’t have time enough to fully appreciate all the feelings, smells, tastes, sounds and sights of Christmas this December, I may try to store some for later — perhaps enjoy them in March while I’m waiting for the songbirds to sing of spring.
- Features
-
-
Patience is key with middle schoolers
Their lives are filled with drama too. Girls crave popularity and boys don’t. Girls never want to go to the bathroom alone and guys want to pull a chair out from under someone or swap licks. They all like to tattle and write notes.
-
The making of maple syrup
Sophie and I are both watching Mark Green skim the sap as it boils in the kettle. We’re in the Greens’ big back yard, near where it meets the woods.
-
Family Affair
When Claire and I began to put our plan into motion we hoped our boys would not only witness a world class sporting event but also expose their young and impressionable minds to different cultures and experiences that would create positive life lessons.
-
The gift of music was well used by family
Not to be bragging, but I come from a musically gifted family.
-
Granddaughter makes a day brighter
Now and again, when my routine seems dull and boredom sets in, I succumb to a rather ho-hum mood. That’s how it was going one cloudy day last week.
-
Homemade is not always best
“Mama, you’ve got to see this,” my grown daughter led me to a colorful booth at a craft fair in Nashville.
-
Losing the ability to be astounded
I’ve never had an urge to howl at the moon. Yet, back mid-way through the past century, I once saw fellow do just that.
-
Not all bumps are a bad thing
You don’t want to take a bump to your head. That’s for sure. And you don’t want your car to get bumped in the parking lot. That’s not good.
-
Valentine’s day brings out love songs
I am going to design a shirt that says, “I Love Love Songs.” I’ll have a heart, of course, instead of love; just like the other I love shirts. Valentine’s Day will bring out a repertoire of love songs dating back to pre WWII.
-
Grandchild sparks flashback
One of the reasons why I enjoy observing the passages of my grandchildren is that, to some degree, they provide opportunities for me to reconnect to my own childhood.
- More Features Headlines
-
Patience is key with middle schoolers
