{Our internet was out since last week. It’s back up and running now and I’ve been catching up on e-mails and orders. Our family enjoyed that unplugged time, but now we’re happy to have internet again!}

On the night I picked up our tree, I was getting ready to turn into the tree lot. I flipped on my turn indicator, slowed down to see the driveway for me to turn into, and was moving into the turning lane when a large truck came right up behind me (nearly hitting my bumper) and blared their horn at me. They preceded to speed past me, roll down their window to flip me off (why?), and then they topped it off by throwing something at my car. Seriously?! Seriously. (Not sure what they threw exactly, but I heard it hit the side of the car and there was a dent from whatever it was.)

The horn and the finger were one thing, those things do tend to happen on the road from time to time, but having something thrown at our car felt like another level entirely. I was being a respectful driver and was going the speed limit, only slowing down when it was time to turn. (We have no bumper stickers on our car, so there was nothing there to offend them.) I was shocked and baffled, thinking “Wow, I can’t believe that just happened.” There might have been a fleeting “What is this world coming to?” and “What’s wrong with people?” thrown in there too. It was a bit unsettling. I joked to myself that I wouldn’t let it ruin my holiday spirit, physically shook it off as best I could when I stepped out of the car, and went to pick out our tree.

But it doesn’t take long for your hope in humanity to be restored, does it? Just go to the airport. I went to the airport later that week to pick up my mom and saw so many happy reunions there. Hugs, joy-filled tears, and people who love each other coming together for the holidays. I’ve always loved watching people greet each other at airports. There was a woman there who was picking up family and said she was going to bring them home to surprise her husband, he had no idea they were coming. She was so giddy and excited you couldn’t help but celebrate with her. I saw mothers reunited with daughters and grandfathers with grandsons. It was touching and sweet to see so much love everywhere. We had plenty of time to witness the greetings all around us because my mom’s flight kept getting delayed. I think it was delayed at least four times that day and we felt downright lucky that her flight made it at all, they were close to cancelling it altogether.

I hadn’t spent a Christmas with my mom in many years (maybe 9? We were trying to remember) and Bracken had never had a Christmas with his Grandma Julie, so we were delighted to be able to this year. I was feeling exhausted from our especially fast pace since the Holiday Market started in November, and had hardly been able to keep up with orders, let alone get ready for the holidays and my mom’s visit. I tidied up the house and we got our tree up and some lights on it, but despite our best efforts there were no ornaments on our tree when she got there. That turned out to be just fine because Bracken got to hang ornaments with his grandma. My mom had plenty of holiday spirit, like she always does, and wherever she went there was Christmas music playing. She made everything so fun and so special and I deeply realized that for me, the holidays have never been the same without spending them with her and some of my other loved ones. Christmas just hadn’t felt like Christmas without them, and her presence this year was so appreciated.

Bracken had some of his decorations up: cranberries strung, and a little stocking and star made in his handworks class. Also some dried flowers he grew in his garden and his favorite beeswax luminary our friends made. We enjoyed delicious meals together. Jeff had us stocked with firewood, we stayed cozy by the fire, and our shining tree looked so beautiful and cheery. On our last day together, we ended up with colds and my mom joked that we gave each other colds for Christmas. With runny (then stuffy) noses, and tickly throats, we sipped tea in our jammies, ate soup, and put clay masks on. I was so sorry she got sick while she was here, but at least we were sick together. There was no one I would rather be sick with because everything is better when I’m with her. We watched Christmas movies and even though my body felt tired from the busy season we just went through and from having a cold, my spirit felt very renewed.

P.S. Thank you to the kind reader who sent me the adorable knitting ornament and sweet note! That was such a nice surprise Alia! 

P.P.S. We didn’t send out holiday cards. This year we were busier than ever and I didn’t find the time, but it’s made us so happy to receive the cards that family and friends have sent and hang them up to smile at.