Happy Solstice

Between Darkness and Light
by John Matthews

It is within the darkness and the silence
That the magic of Christmas starts;
Somewhere between the glimmer of lights
And the first breathless moment
When children come
Stumbling like new-born angels
Into morning light.
Within the darkness and the silence
We sit, watching wonder
Evolve into form; where we
Enter the ringing silence
In which the first bells of Christmas
Sound the music of the soul;
Where the morning joy begins
With a single carol
To a half-forgotten tune.
It is here, between the darkness
And the light,
That we wait, uncertain,
Seeking the moment
That challenges us to believe
In a freshly minted miracle
Born every Christmas Day.

Hope you have a wonderful Solstice! My day has been fantastic so far and we plan to have a yummy dinner tonight with a little candle-lighting ceremony. It is very cold here - 44 for our low and only 59 right now at 1pm but it is so beautiful with the sun so bright. (and I am thankful that I live here - I know how bad the snow in the MidAtlantic and Northeast was this weekend.) With breakfast we had an incredibly sweet ruby red grapefruit (we have a friend who gives them to us right off the tree), I made a pot of darjeeling tea, and then I finished the painting for my son - it is of Maroon Bells just outside of Aspen (I have lots of photos of Colorado from having lived there so long). I was just ready to have some leftover vegetable soup for lunch and the mailman came, bringing me some happy happy mail - thank you Deana and Jeanet. I will take some pix for a future posting - but I am so fortunate to have such wonderful and talented friends. I have 2 layouts that need to be adhered this afternoon and then exercise - Hana is curled up in a ball in her basket staying cozy. Of course, Dan is playing golf but -----he is wearing long pants!!!! LOL

I always get a little introspective at this time of year, thinking about the past year and making intentions for the coming year. I have often wondered how it must have been for earlier humans at this time of year when they saw that each day was getting shorter - measuring the shadow with a stick in the snow. Did they wonder if the darkness was taking over? and then the joy when they realized that the light was no longer receding and was, in fact, growing -- we are blessed because we know that this is just a turning point - so light a candle tonight and be thankful.

Looking forward to some fun times this week, some yummy meals, some delicious goodies, some intellectual conversation (LOL), some presents (I love presents and there are quite a few under our tree), some of my favorite music (I had the Nutcracker on the cd player this morning), and lots of love and joy.

Hope you have a great day and night. HERE COMES THE SUN!

Thanks for reading and ttfn