It Is Indeed a Merry Christmas!

I was thinking about all the changes that happened this year. So many things are once again shifting to another place, another way to live, more to be awe struck by. New jobs are on the horizon for several of us, the new house is somewhere we love being, my new attitude about waking up every day happier, more grateful, trying to ring all the goodness out of the day. It is all so very important to me right now.
I have no idea how all the things that have changed will effect us in the end. What I do know is how excited I am to be a part of it, waiting, watching for every new step we take as a family, and the ones I get to take as a woman, wife and mother. Where I once stood back, with great trepidation, thinking about the looming changes, now I am able to see that the "unknown" is merely part of the adventure.
I was remembering where we were as a family, just last year at this time. Our house was torn up, being re-constructed inch by inch, in order to get it ready to sell. We had so many questions back then. Would it sell? Where would we live? What would we do in the mean time? I was driven back then, as I sported my "work" clothes, splattered with paint, hair often plastered to my head, smelling to high heaven, by a quote I learned from a famous contemporary artist Chuck Close. He said, "Other artists wait for inspiration, while the rest of us get to work."
So that is what Mike and I did this past year, we got to work. I wouldn't say this was an easy year by any stretch, but I am grateful enough to know it could have been so much worse. The truth is, it could always be much worse.
Our house is decorated and smells of cinnamon, wreaths dangling, Christmas trees lit with multi-colored twinkle lights, while a 3 foot Santa smiles down from his perch on our "plant shelf". The dogs are snoring, each in their little beds, covered in their very own blankets. The bratty cats, are sleeping, fat and happy in their new kitty bed, yawning as they look up at me when I enter the hall. Jeepers, the sugar glider chatters from his cage until I go and get him his favorite dried blueberries to keep him quiet and happy.
I love my new house. We had friends over who wanted to see the house. As we walked them into the foyer we told them to turn around and have a look. In my head I was thinking "tadah". "This is it," Mike and I both chirped at the same time. There would be no tour from room to room. We have one open area that is our house; the only thing not visible are the bedrooms. The rest can be seen as soon as you hit the front door. Our house is easy to clean. It invites folks to sit and participate in whatever activity is going on. There is nowhere to hide in our house, but then again, I see we don't need one.
Our house is not perfect, it is perfect for us.
It's Christmas Eve and there are few presents under the tree. Living within our means, we must all be happy with what is, rather than what we think we want. The requests were simple, mostly of time spent. I have no regrets about not having stuff. Living simpler, smaller has allowed each of us to realize how very little we require. Stuff needs space and space for us is at a premium.
I feel happy. I realize how fortunate we are to have had the experiences we had this year. I went on-line and some of the houses that were our competition, when we were selling, are still on the market for much less. Everything that has happened for us and even to us, feels somehow divinely inspired.
Tomorrow is our Christmas. We plan to hang with our college kids tonight, unwrapping gifts, playing games chilling by the fire, letting them sleep in tomorrow. Mike and I plan to go to mass to thank our God for all we have been given. We will go early, just the two of us, hand in hand, remembering to sink into the moment, feeling every ounce of the joy.
Tonight will be about cheesy dance moves to corny Christmas music. It will be about celebrating traditions I have given to our children all of their lives. Tonight will be about remembering those who we will not see, but love so much. Tonight it will be joyous in our new house, all of us celebrating the gift of being together.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
I wish for you the gift of miracles and Santa Clause. I wish for you a deep, peaceful sleep filled with wonderful dreams of loved ones, near and far. May you all be filled to the brim with all the happiness your heart can hold.