Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Silence

I'm sitting up late, in my parents' front room, surrounded by the glow of Christmas lights. They have a remarkable amount of lights, for the size of the room. It can't be more than 15x15 feet. They have 4 little snow villages on the various end tables and shelves. They have lights around 2 different windows, along with the plastic - but tasteful- Christmas tree. My folks are in bed. My little brother is out visiting friends. The other 2 siblings are at their respective homes. It's very quiet.

It's a nice quiet. It's the kind of quiet that I don't get often. I am usually wearing a pager, and even on my days off it seems to chirp any way. My cell phone often distracts me with various chimes and rings. Sometimes the TV is on in the background. Sometimes my fiance is playing is guitar. The train whistles by at least once every night. When I am at my parents' house, it's usually for an event or holiday, so everyone is coming in and out at various times. My niece and nephew are usually here, laughing and begging us to toss them around. Even growing up, with 4 kids in this house, it was not a quiet house.

Tonight, it is. Tonight, I'm waiting for the lights to flip off, when their timer hits midnight. Sometimes it's nice to get recentered, amidst the bustling rush that is Life. To take a minute or 16, and just sit with your thoughts and your heart. Not thinking about the past or wishing about the future. Just sitting in the present. It feels good. I think I'd like to do this more often.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas to All...

This year I am taking a week off, between Christmas and New Years, to spend time with my family. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family, eating some good food, and visiting Chicago to go ice skating. I love hanging out with my family, we have so much fun. I anticipate a lot of laughing til my sides hurt and keeping milk from coming out of my nose. Even as we get older, my siblings are some of my favorite people to hang out with.

I hope everyone out there can find at least one person to enjoy spending some time with this Christmas season. Merry Christmas everyone!