Figure 8

Christmas was different this year. I guess its time for that to be the case again; a change that simply marks change though is a little difficult. We've changed as time has passed and we've gotten older, but without spouses or grandkids to consider or anyone coming in from out of town, I guess it seemes odd to me to make the change. Not that its bad. It was actually nice is a lot of ways....we went back to the old school Christmas morning. There are just so many elephants in the room, skeletons in the closet, wrestling matches underground....I don't know about that last one; I just know everyone is struggling. Of course there are a lot of things to be thankful for and I remind myself of that as often as I can.  There are a lot of things to worry about as well, and that seems to, inevitably, bring things to a boil. But we tried extra hard this holiday and were mostly successful.
I've always taken my time seriously, but I feel like things are more pertinent now. There's more of an urgency for some reason and a need to really evaluate things and what they mean. Its a new year, which can set people up for all kinds of expectations and even failures, and superficial things.  But there is something validating about the passing of one year and embarking on the next. I want to enjoy moments and encounters more and more, not fear things coming or passing.