13%

I heard somewhere that there is a 13% chance for snow in Colorado on Christmas Day. Well, the odds were in our favor!

Cheers to another successful Christmas!

Stories

Every Christmas, I love listening to the hour NPR program called "Tinsel Tales". It is a bunch of different holiday stories that are poignant and many that are funny. My favorite is Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris. Here is the link-cut and paste it into your browser...if you have an hour to listen I hope you enjoy the program as much as I do! http://www.npr.org/2011/12/21/17488106/tinsel-tales-npr-christmas-stories

Coldplay Christmas Songs

Last year I posted this YouTube video-one of my favorite versions of this song! Thought I would post this song recently by Coldplay... You can't have too many YouTube videos showing Chris Martin's handsome mug and his great voice!

The Yin and the Yang

It was a realization I had last week, after hearing about the mass shootings in Newtown of children. It is the realization that no matter how hard we try as a society to envelop the world in “Christmas Spirit” and being festive, loving and giving to all mankind, we can’t escape the realities of humanity. I got to thinking about how the holidays (or the time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day) is really a compact experience of life at its most impactful…the yin and the yang. During this time, the yin and yang are magnified. Feelings are felt stronger during this time. Happiness is incredibly happy…all the food and friends and festive outings. The music, the holiday plays and events, the lights, the gifts you give to people you love most and to those who you may not even talk to much the rest of the year. On the flip side, the sadness is, well, incredibly sad. A Christmas where a child anticipating the day is suddenly dead…Where people who are facing end-of-life realize this is their last Christmas…and people who have experienced loss grieve it all over again. Not to mention that if you are not Christian, you are reminded every day (on the radio, in stores and as you drive home from work) that you are a part of a minority (which can be intimidating and rightly so). I am not writing this to be the Debbie Downer of the moment, or, as we say in holiday-speak “The Grinch”-I am writing this to acknowledge that humanity and the life we all lead is multifaceted. The idea that really keeps me on my toes is that we can’t know the love, the good, the happiness if we don’t know the bad. If everything was good and happy all of the time then we would be robots. And while a future of humans becoming robots is not too far off (and maybe we are, already), I prefer the yin and the yang. I prefer feeling the pain and also the good. Because I know, then, when the good is happening, and what it feels like. And I know that the next round of pain will be followed by the good. The family of that dead child is getting more support and love than many of us put together. That patient who realized this was their last Christmas is reconciling with a family member whom he/she has hurt. That non-Christian can validate his/her belief system more being in the minority and with the support of those in his or her community. What better alchemy than that? I just don’t think the Christmas spirit is all about a time for “charity”…I think it is all about tapping into the yin and the yang that we all have in our own lives and recognizing that the yin and the yang are universal for us all.

Another successful lights tour

For the past few years, Meg and I take the kids on a driving tour of lights. We research on the internet where to drive to, and pick about 3 or 4 houses to enjoy. We had another successful lights tour this year, seeing some houses in Centennial and Englewood. Typically we get hot chocolates from Starbucks before we go on our journey, but neither Meg nor I wanted to feel bloated from the chocolatey drink so the kids got theirs at home. There was one house, though, that kind of freaked us all out. It was very nicely decorated, except in the window there was this reel of the shadow of the Grinch moving about. It was a tad bit creepy. We did miss seeing the one house that for years was decked out to the max and they would have cookies and cider for the viewers. They wrote a note last year it was their final year because they were retiring. So, while the other houses couldn't compete, it was still fun to play some Christmas tunes and carry on our tradition.

A night at Table Mountain

Since I threw the book club holiday bash on Saturday night, the boys went to the kennel for their own little vacation. I couldn't pick them up until today, so I had decided to stay the night in Golden at the Table Mountain Inn. I called up Liz and Lance to see if they were free for dinner because they live so close to Golden and we decided to meet at 5:30. Before then, I checked in and enjoyed the lovely hotel. It isn't as posh as the St. Julien in Boulder, and I kind of prefer feeling a little more anonymous and a little more comfortable. The rooms and hotel decor have a Southwest flair, and the upper floors have balconies that overlook Washington Ave. This is the super cozy bed; however, no matter how much I plan for a really good night's sleep at a hotel, I always wake up at 3am and have trouble falling asleep...

This is the night view from the balcony:

I went shopping in the afternoon and then read for a while. I met Liz and Lance for dinner at the Inn's restaurant which is really, really good. They went on their way; I hung out in the room, took a bath and did my nails. I woke up this morning, did the treadmill, and checked out around 10am. The waiter last night recommended that I have the chorizo sausage and cheddar biscuits and gravy with the apple-smoked bacon for breakfast; though I pondered it in the morning, I realized I would have had to spend about 5 hours on the treadmill to work it off. I opted for a very light breakfast instead. It is always fun to get away, even if just 30 minutes away. It is never too short to feel like you are on vacation!

Holiday party

You know it is a good party when people stand around talking in the most awkward or random places...like right next to the window air conditioner, or gathered around a small chair in a very messy kitchen. Yes, my friends, it is the company we keep rather than where we keep the company...that despite a very cozy set up of chairs in the living room my wonderful bookclub friends plopped themselves wherever conversation was available, even if in a random location. That is what I love about these women...after 10 plus years we never run out of things to say. Or read. Cheers to you, ladies, and to a renewed 2013 full of good books and continuing great friendships! XO

Under the same sky

Last night as I looked at the stars, and this morning as I reveled in the beautiful sunrise, I thought about how everyone in the world lives under the same sky. If nothing else, that is one thing that connects us all. This thought came to me as I was thinking of all the families, teachers, staff, and kids in Newtown, Connecticut. That under the same sky as me exists a community filled with grief, pain, bewilderment along with support, love, and care for one another. It is a powerful realization and feeling, one of connection that I wish the gunman had felt for his fellow community members and even his own family. (This is a photo I took of a sunrise from the cabin in Estes Park. I had this same feeling of this beautiful sky blanketing us all at the time I took the photo. It is a little bit of comfort in a time of sadness and anxiety. That blanket of love that covers us all).

Perspective

Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little-Buddha. This quote is certainly appropriate for today. While I complain about getting up early to work, one of our clients got dragged by a bus last night. She slipped and the bus didn't see her and took off; she was dragged by the bus and had to have major surgery on her arm and her head. Already, this resident is struggling with sobriety; her son has been taken away from her; and she just can't get traction. It is pretty amazing what some people go through and they keep on going. The concept of resiliency is very interesting to me because the same negative event will affect people in completely different ways. Some people are able to keep perspective and put one foot in front of the other; some people may just fold. I hope this client is the one foot in front type...

The 7am shift

I know that a lot of people don't have steady work right now, so I don't want to come across complaining about a good thing...and I don't work at the shelter very often, just one day a week...but it seems to always be the early shift. I was in bed fairly early last night and one would think waking up at 5 to head into the shelter wouldn't be that big of a deal...but with the busy week I have had I would rather sleep in today! The good thing is that there is a bed in the counseling office so I may be able to catch a few ZZZ's before residents wake up and start needing me. I wish you all a day of relaxation and Sunday laziness! This is just my speed right now...