Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 6, A Year in Review

I love this time of year, this in-between period of reflection and hope, of seeing where you've been and where you want to go, of looking back at footsteps in the sands of time and stepping forward to create new ones. And as I straddle the Old Year and the New, I begin here, in reflection ...

1- Most Popular Posts 

(things I've written which have resonated)

Smiling Eyes

(this continues to be my top post for 2019 which brings multiple visitors to my blog every day) 

The Garden of Answered Prayer

(understanding prayer)

The Story Behind a Book

(the story on why I wrote my book)

The Bumbling Christian

(resulted in some very sweet emails)

On a Wing and a Prayer

(parenthood and letting go)

A Perspective on Gratitude

(seeing things differently from above)

2- Posts which Created a Buzz 

Without a doubt, my Girls' Trip to Italy Recaps created the most buzz. Because of them I received emails, private messages, phone calls, and texts wanting to know two things: 1/ when is the next trip and 2/ can I put their name on a list.

Girls' Trip to Italy, Days 1-3

Girls' Trip to Italy, Days 4-5

Girls' Trip to Italy, Days 6-8

Girls' Trip to Italy, Days 9-10

 Girls' Trip to Italy, Days 11-12

3- Top Photos of 2019 

(no fancy equipment, just the camera on my iPhone 8 plus)

(and it's impossible to take a bad photo in Italy ... I'm just saying)

(Isola San Giulio, Italy) 

Isola San Giulio, Italy

Venezia

4- Top Trips

(this isn't a fair category since my two week trip to Italy was the highlight of the year, 

but I love to travel ANYWHERE so, technically, they are ALL my favorite) 

ITALY - New Orleans - Hilton Head - 

Arkansas - Jekyll Island - Virginia Beach 

biking the Virginia Creeper Trail   

White Water Rafting on the Chattooga River 

5- The Best Worst Poems 

(from the files of very bad poetry by bia)

words

something said

thoughts

raindrops of many

moody blues

leaving

by any other name

 6- Events that Inspired Personal Growth

(and pushed me outside my comfort zone)

 An Ocean, an Airplane, and Two Countries Full of Kisses

(writing my book)

Deep Breaths

(the learning curve on book talks and speaking engagements)

My Session with a Personal Style Coach

(identifying my style, updating my wardrobe, branching out)

My Interview with mi.o (my modern italian network)

(on being interviewed)

In Awe

(on the responsibility of getting 31 people to Italy, and back home again)

2019 Girls' Trip to Italy

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 5, Destination Ornaments

Welcome to my newly updated blog. I've rearranged, updated, changed out photos, and generally cleaned things up a bit. I've included links to published articles, my book, and my web site. Let me know what you think!

And since we're still celebrating the twelve days of Christmas, here is something I love: destination ornaments!

clockwise from top right: 

New Orleans, Va. Creeper Trail, San Juan, Rock City, Puerto Rico, 

Santa Fe, Mexico, Las Vegas, Russia, Italy, Iceland, Sedona, Mount Vernon

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 4, A Memory of Christmas Past

One dark and cold evening just before Christmas, we were sitting around our backyard fire pit. I was wrapped in a blanket, Nicholas and Jonathan were lounging in the Adirondack chairs, Joe kept feeding the fire, and Timothy went back and forth between sitting and kicking the soccer ball against the fence.

There is something about sitting around a fire that encourages us to be in the moment; to simply watch the flames crackling and spitting; to sit in quiet contemplation or to share a story.

That evening around the fire pit, we remembered how Once Upon a Time Nicholas claimed, with wide eyes and breathless excitement on Christmas morning, that he had seen a red glow outside his bedroom window which he was certain must have been Rudolph.

It wasn't until several years later he learned that the red glow had been the car brake lights of the guy delivering our morning paper.

It was a good memory to bring forth while sitting around the fire a few days before Christmas.

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, 

and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, 

become a child again at Christmastime.

~Laura Ingalls Wilder 

Speak to Me (Advent) Sunday: Setting forth

There is a YouTube video of Fr. Manno giving a lesson on what we should be doing during Advent. His answer? We wait. But then he explained the difference between active vs. inactive waiting, and how during Advent we should be actively waiting; that is, as we wait for the Christ Child we are not meant to sit around doing nothing. Instead, we prepare. 

His commentary reminded me of the motto verso l'alto (towards the height), words often associated with the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. While on one level the words refer to our earthly struggle as we climb toward the summit of eternal life, on a very practical level the words are also a rallying cry for what we do while climbing. 

For we should always be doing something ... just like that waiting time before a trip. That period of preparation for a future action, a period of activity in waiting for the moment we can finally take that step and go forth. 

The suitcases were packed and standing in a line by the back door; I was in that in-between place of being ready, but not yet going.

I have often said that preparing for a trip is almost as fun as the trip itself. In the months leading up to that pile of luggage by the back door I applied for a brand new passport, purchased some new clothes, and managed to pack everything I needed. For months I gathered maps, read guide books, conducted Google searches, made reservations, and planned daily itineraries; in short, I did everything I could to help guide me into the unknown, and it was terribly exciting to imagine the possibilities and anticipate the adventure.

But it was also all kinds of scary.

Then something happened the morning of our departure as I stood between two worlds – the one I was leaving (familiar and safe) and the one I was headed toward (full of the unknown). As I reached into my purse to check (yet again) if I had my passport, I remembered the Dutch proverb that goes like this: He is who outside his door, already has the hard part of his journey behind him. It's a proverb about taking that first step which, without a doubt, is the hardest step of all.

So that’s exactly what I did – I picked up my suitcase and took that first step out the door, and for the first time in months I was completely and wholly at peace. I was on my way, come what may.

During this Advent as we embark on a journey connecting memory and hope, I am reminded how any journey – spiritual, physical, redemptive, etc. – begins with that first step. It may be the biggest step you may ever have to take, seemingly impossible and impossibly difficult. It may be a hesitant step, or a bold one. It may require a leap of faith. But in the end it's just a step.

And with that one step, you're on your way.

My sister's friend, Karla Falk, designs these unique etchings on slate taken from 
the roof of her family's 100 year old dairy barn in rural northeast Ohio. 

Speak to Me (Advent) Sunday: Readiness in Memory and Hope

Yesterday I ordered my 2019 Erin Condren planner. It’s a beautiful planner; on the cover is a row of birch trees, and the autumn yellow leaves add a nice pop of color against the solid background.  There are pages with quotes and blank spaces to write down goals. Most importantly, 365 empty squares are lined up like stepping stones going forth into a year of tomorrows. 

In big ways and in small, each of those stepping stones will lead me on a journey propelled by Time which marches forward in seconds, minutes, days and years.  With every breath, with every step, with every thought or action or prayer, I am on a journey.

We are all on a journey.

Sometimes the journey is planned and carefully mapped out, but other times it yanks and pulls and drags us where we do not want to go -- through illness, incarceration or grief as we recognize what without understanding why. Sometimes the journey can be a battle with inner demons of self-doubt, alcoholism, or drugs. Sometimes it calls us to foreign lands, a new career path, marriage, or a religious vocation. Oftentimes the journey is exciting and adventurous, but just as often it’s a whirlwind of ordinary with carpool, dinner, laundry, work, and children.

I turned the pages of my brand new planner, and as I filled in the squares with birthdays and anniversaries and family trips, I saw all the empty squares more as stepping stones of hope rather than blank squares of the unknown. I then looked at my old planner, at the squares of yesterdays which were once tomorrows, and saw stepping stones of memory.

Tonight, we will light a candle to mark Advent’s passage, and I am grateful for this season with its gift of time to both recognize the journey and reflect on it -- to gather and learn and step forward in readiness. In his book, Seek that Which is Above, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) describes Advent as a connection between memory and hope; that is, the healing memory of the God who became a child, and the hope that memory brings.

Memory. Hope. A readiness to journey onward.

Following the Star

I once read how, on our spiritual journey, one can move forward or one can move backwards, but one cannot stand still.

Moving forward or moving backwards. It makes sense, though, because if we're meant to be on a journey who wants to turn around and go back down the same way in which we have just come? How would we get anywhere?

Of course, there are moments in which we need to pause, but those moments serve to give us the strength to continue on. We are still, but our eyes, hearts, and soul are still looking ahead.

Today, as we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany, I draw comfort from the journey the Three Wise Men took those many years ago. They did not know exactly where they were going, or even what they would find, but they looked to the heavens for both direction and guidance.

And most importantly, they never gave up. Their journey progressed; they searched until they found.

Which is comforting to me. In my spiritual journey I often stumble. I know that many times I am not making progress. Sometimes I even lose my way. But like the Three Wise Men, my journey can continue to move forward by seeking guidance from above and following that star.

As I child, this feast day seemed so exotic, so magical. Three Kings, dressed in flowing robes, following a star, bringing gifts ... it all fueled my imagination.

But today, older and wiser, I know I am not meant to be in awe of that journey.

I know am on that journey.


updated post from January 2008

You Got Mail ... An Advent Tradition

This time of year the postman is one of my very favorite people. Call me old fashioned, but receiving real mail delivered to our mailbox – mail in actual envelopes adorned with cursive handwriting and a Christmas stamp --  is nothing short of exciting; in fact, every day around 2 p.m. I am already smiling in anticipation.

A Christmas card is, afer all, a mini present. Inside may be blessings, good wishes, photos, news, shared memories, or even funny jokes. One time we received a card that someone forgot to sign, and we had ever so much fun trying to guess who sent the card with the red cardinal on the holly branch. Was it Patty out in Missouri? Aunt Ann? Our realtor? It was a Christmas mystery.

What I find beautiful is that, behind every card, someone out there was thinking of us at a given moment when they wrote our name on the envelope and signed the card.

It's wonderful, this exchanging of Christmas cards, and to ensure my rough and tumble boys learn to go beyond the picture on the front of the card and appreciate the well wishes and blessings that are being sent, we have an Advent tradition that, when we sit around the dinner table, we take a few moments to pass around any Christmas cards that came in the mail that day.

We read each card out loud. We comment on which ones are beautiful. We share stories about the people who sent them (this is from Aunt Clare, the one who made that beautiful quilt when you were born, or Bill is Dad’s old roommate from college). Then, when we say grace, we offer up a special prayer for those who sent the card.  

And this way, at some time at any given moment, our family is thinking and praying for someone out there.

Christmas blessings, airmail style.

 

 

 

Advent Idea

Old Christmas cards? Cut out vignettes and frame them. These framed Advent scenes are leftover from last year's Advent wreath, and this year they adorn a shelf in my kitchen.

 

First Sunday of Advent (and introducing our Advent wreath 2012)

The Advent wreath is an important part of our family's celebration of Advent, and every Sunday we gather for prayers and the lighting of a candle.

It's a beautiful tradition which brings together the family in an act of faith, and for me it's also a chance to create a new wreath every year. In the past I have used bedspring coils, a section of a corncrib, a piece of driftwood, baskets, platters, and framed art to create Advent wreaths which are unique in appearance, but true to the meaning behind the tradition.

This year my inspiration was a vintage tray, so I started with that. While I usually incoporate the pink and purple colors with ribbons instead of candles, this year I decided not to include those colors at all. Instead, I focused on some of the other symbolic elements of the Advent wreath, which I underlined in the list below:

THE SYMBOLISM BEHIND THE ADVENT WREATH:

evergreens = everlasting life
holly = crown of thorns
pine cones/nuts/pods = life and resurrection
four candles = four weeks of Advent
color purple = prayer, penance, preparatory sacrifices, royalty
color pink = rejoicing
circle = eternity of God; God's never ending love
wood = the manger; the cross
Progressive lighting of candles = expection and hope surrounding Christ's birth

 

Advent Wreath 2012 (w/ vintage tray)

 

 

 

Some past Advent wreaths ...

 

Advent Wreath 2011 (beach driftwood and framed scenes of Advent)

 

 



Advent wreath 2010 (w/ wooden candlebra found in an antique store)

Advent wreath 2007 (corncrib and bedspring coils)

 

One of the wreaths I made for a talk I gave on Advent and the tradition of the Advent wreath 

(Part of the talk included how to make an Advent wreath from things around the house. For a demonstration, I constructed five different wreaths during my talk.)

 

 

So, tonight we'll light our first candle and begin the Advent season with this blessing.

There is beauty and solemnity in the lighting of a candle, and when we gather as a family around our Advent wreath to pray, we become part of a ritual as old as time itself.