New Blooms for a New Year

For the past few years, I’ve been the recipient of an amaryllis bulb for Christmas.  This year’s bulb is the usual impressive specimen and I potted it at once.  I also received a box of organic mushrooms that will grow on my kitchen counter.  I’ve envied these kits for some time and was particularly pleased to receive one.  This morning, I started the process of getting my box of mushrooms ready.

The mushroom box is now in its assigned windowsill, getting ready to grow me some delicious fungus for the new year.  

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I do like the idea of the new year as both a fresh start and an opportunity to try new things.  So my new amaryllis bulb and my box of mushrooms will provide weekly inspiration and growth, a reminder in the midst of the sometimes dreary Winter season that renewal is everywhere, if we just look for it.  For the next few Thursdays, I’ll post photos of my changing blooms so I can share the progress.

Happy New Year, y’all.  May 2016 bring you peace, renewal, and some moments of unmitigated joy.

Unexpected Lessons

When JT took up the sport of wrestling in the 8th grade, I had some misgivings.  My associations with the sport were largely stereotypical, and, like most stereotypes, these weren’t positive.  I thought of wrestlers as grunting beasts.   I wasn’t interested in that path for my son.

But I indulged JT’s 8th grade choice to try the sport because our school’s wrestling coach is one of the finest human beings I know, a strong man with a kind heart, incredible patience for kids, and a terrific sense of humor.  JT could do worse than learn some lessons from Coach L, and so I supported his choice to wrestle.  

Two years later, he’s begun his third season of wrestling under the care of Coach L.  I’ve had to acknowledge that my stereotypical view of the sport was wrong.  There is still some grunting, of course, but the sport is far more than that for my son and his teammates.  It’s a lesson in strength, perseverance, and preparation.  Despite the fact that an individual wrestler is alone on the mat for the contest, the team element of preparation for those matches is incredibly powerful.  The boys work hard together and are proud of one another for facing the challenges of the sport.  Last season, JT’s proudest moment wasn’t a victory of his own, it was the victory of a teammate who started the season barely able to complete 10 push ups.  That’s not a bad way for a 15 year old to see the world.  

Wrestling has taught JT many things.  He’s learned the power of a team to support an individual venture.  He’s learned that preparation and resolve are skills that pay off in a myriad of ways when it comes time to persevere.  He’s become both physically stronger and more emotionally durable, thanks to a sense of self that he’s learned as he prepares to face a match on the mat.  When I watch him wrestle, I can see from his face that he’s up to the challenge.  So I haven’t yet screamed, “get off my son,” while he’s engaged in a match, a victory of my own.

We’ll have to hope that I can continue to demonstrate this self-restraint as the 2015-2016 season unfolds.   As for the boy, well, he’s learned some important lessons about strength and endurance, about being a teammate.  I’m looking forward to the rest of this season’s lessons.  

A Season of Rest

When Winter Break first began, I was weary and ready for some unscheduled days.  One week into vacation, with Christmas just past, I’m starting to feel rested.  I’ve had time for books, both familiar and new; there’s been cooking and extra sleep.  We’ve played games and I’ve had the chance to try out all of my new coloring books.  The days between Christmas and the arrival of the New Year feel like time has slowed down.  It permits me time for renewal before we return to busy school days.  That’s happy!

Merry Christmas!

Santa made a visit to our house last night and left his presents just where the boy expected them.

One of the things I most enjoy about the holidays is these little traditions; ones that still feel special long after my little boy has grown taller than me.  I enjoy all the secret planning and I love cooking special holiday meals.   Something about the holidays says cheese ball to me, and I happily stir one together for Christmas Eve, when we have snacks and appetizers.

For our Christmas supper, we had baked ham, roasted brussels sprouts, roasted parsnips with horseradish butter, potatoes romanoff, and fresh-baked rolls.

We’ve called our family, played some games, colored in our new coloring books, and enjoyed a quiet day.  I made Christmas supper wearing short sleeves and flip flops, but, native Californian that I am, that feels festive instead of a sign that end times are hand.  Merry Christmas, y’all!

I Believe

When JT was 6 years old, the year that I was first a single mama, he announced that Santa “knows my brain better than I do.”  The moment was a much-needed dose of the magical for me.  It confirmed that I was making it as a mama on my own.  It reminded me to get out of my head and to establish my own new normal.  Though I was braced for the holiday to be another new, unhappy tradition, that Christmas was an epiphany for me.  There was joy to be found and I welcomed it.

JT believed in Santa Claus a little longer than most children because I maintained the illusion.  Though he expressed doubts as a fifth grader, as late as the sixth grade he was still willing to believe.  I encouraged this because childhood doesn’t last long enough.  And, let’s face it: I loved playing Santa.  In a way, playing Santa had helped save me and I wanted to hold on to that blessing.

A few days ago, we were talking about Santa and I announced that I would be pulling up the Norad Santa tracker on Christmas Eve.  JT revealed that when he doubted Santa’s existence, the Norad updates always provided the solid proof he needed.  I hadn’t known this and was charmed to learn it.

I know that Christmas has become a commercialized juggernaut and that for some of us, the holidays are less a pleasure than a pain.  But I love the simple traditions of the December holidays —— the lights, the cards, the wrapping paper, the tags and ribbons, the homemade treats, and choosing a special gift for someone I love.  I remember that in 2006, at a time in my life when I was struggling mightily to find some happiness, Santa and my Christmas traditions, two things that I feared would magnify my sadness, instead eased it.

So that is the Santa I believe in —— the excitement and magic of a child on Christmas Eve, the belief in something good and pure, the happiness of a surprise, the smell of evergreen and glimmer of lights, the pleasant remembrance of a kindness received, and the blessing of giving to others.  

Thank you, Santa.  Merry Christmas!

Planning and Preparation

I did my best to stay organized as the holiday season arrived, wrapping packages as they arrived in the house, keeping lists, and organizing stocking stuffers in one location instead of tucked into bags hidden in my closet.    I made my holiday Costco run on Monday; on Tuesday I organized the dining room so that we were no longer overwhelmed by boxes of chocolate and gift-wrapping supplies.  Today, I wrapped up the rest of my Christmas errands.

Wearing flip flops, my glitter red toenails and I headed out in the warm rain to pick up our holiday ham.  I ran some other errands and then I came home and got things ready for the holiday feasts.  I made a cheese ball and baked potatoes for the potato casserole we’ll have on Christmas day.  I swept the floors, cleaned the bathrooms, and treated myself to an extra chapter of my book.  I wrapped some packages.  Then I poured myself some bourbon and watched Poldark on Masterpiece Theater.  I’ve been holding on to these shows on the DVR since the late summer, planning to enjoy them during my holiday.  It felt indulgent and lovely to finally watch.  

It’s a present to myself, time to watch this show.  As I watched, the rain came down outside and the lights on my Christmas tree twinkled to keep me company.  Merry, merry!

Pretty Packages

I’m nearly done wrapping holiday gifts for this season, though I never tire of the pleasures of a pretty present.

Real Life Conversations with JT: Apple and Tree edition

The backstory:  Lucy the cat likes to eat holiday ribbon, especially the curling kind that shows up on holiday gifts.  Though she eats it, she shouldn’t, because it makes her sick.  Years ago when I made this realization, I quit using that kind of ribbon.  But there are holidays gifts from friends and students in the house, and Lucy is on the prowl for the ribbon.  Sunday morning, JT and I heard Lucy make the yowling sound that proceeds a cat hurl.

Me: She’s gonna hurl….get out of the way.

Then we watched as Lucy hurled up a pile of ribbon.  Twice.

JT:  Ribbon.

Me:  She can’t help herself when ribbon is involved.

JT: Well, given how much she enjoys it, I’m thinking of eating some ribbon myself. 

JT’s sense of humor is perhaps the most obvious evidence that I am his mama.  World, you’ve been warned.

Relaxation Mode

Winter Break has begun and JT and I are settling into the realization that relaxation has arrived.  He still has wrestling practice and there are a few meets over the holidays but he doesn’t have much schoolwork and the alarm clocks don’t need to be set.  The pace of our days is eased for the next two weeks and we welcome this time.  Both of us are feeling happy about the leisurely days on the horizon.  That alone feels like cause for celebration.  Add in the holidays, and we are feeling blessed and lucky in equal measure.

This morning, I made a few extra cups of coffee and started my holiday lists.  This afternoon, I’ll go grocery shopping to stock the fridge and pantry for the week.  There are a few more gifts to be wrapped.  There are stocking stuffers to be organized and holiday cards to address and slip in the mail.  I especially enjoy this part of the holidays; the small chores, lists, and, plans are surefire proof that relaxation has arrived.  That’s happy!

Winter Nest

One of the things I most enjoy about Winter is the need to sleep under a heavy down comforter.  I like the weight of the covers and the warmth of the down, both of them protection from the night’s chill.  I like to swap out comforter covers throughout the season (I do the same with quilts in warmer weather).

This comforter cover is soft and lovely; the pattern reminds me of something I might see in my coloring book.  As of this afternoon, we’re on Winter Break and this nest and I will spend a little more time together.  That’s happy!