Heart, Wonder(Woman), & Stained Glass Mandalas, BlackBerry Shots, Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 2009, all photos © 2009 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved
It’s that awkward time between end-of-December Holidays and the New Year. And 2009 was a hard year for many. I personally know people who were (and are) unemployed, those who have lost much of their life savings due to illness and no health insurance, a family with a loved one who died unexpectedly in her 30’s from an enlarged heart. They checked on her when she didn’t show up at the family Christmas party; the funeral was Christmas Eve.
But I also saw a heartwarming story where a man in Youngstown, Ohio named Jason Evans donated a kidney to Kimberly Smith, a 58-year-old woman who has raised 28 foster and adopted children, and a stranger to him, so that she could live. (He heard the call at a church service; she calls the kidney LJ for Little Jason.) And a segment on a woman named Jennifer Williams who gives back to women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have been raped, tortured and mutilated in the Congolese civil war, by encouraging sponsors to pledge $27 a month and write letters in an exchange that transforms both women’s lives. Lisa Shannon, founder of Run for Congo Women, has a personal mission to sponsor 1000 Congolese women.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Was it something you really wanted as a child? Was it handmade, a piece of art or jewelry, a family recipe box, dinner with friends? Did it cost money or was it a gift from the heart? We didn’t have a lot of presents under the tree this year but life feels abundant. We and our cats Kiev and Mr. Stripeypants have our health (Chaco died mid-year); there was good food on the table, Christmas ham and Grandma Caroline’s Green Salad; the Wonder Woman stocking stuffer (made by Magnet Dude) and Mandalas Stained Glass Coloring Book brought big smiles to my face.
Liz’s sister has a tradition of sending her a rock from Heart Mountain in Wyoming each time her mother visits or another Holiday rolls around. We have bits of the Heart all over our garden and yard. Each time Liz opens a new heart, her face is filled with wonder. There are cards that line the bookcase, some with checks or gift certificates, not to mention the pajamas and slippers from a pre-Christmas sale. Life feels abundant.
Maybe the greatest Christmas gift was watching a family from up the street (who we had never met) stroll through the neighborhood with their snowblower, digging out driveways from the Holiday blizzard. How neighbors joined in and walked along with them, helping the next neighbor dig out.
Or the young sister/brother team who knocked on our door Christmas Eve and offered to snowblow the driveway for $10. They came from a blended family of 7 kids and were trying to earn a little extra money. These are the gifts that keep on giving.
Hi, QM. Your mandala coloring book looks beautiful and fun. Sounds like you, Liz, and the cats are snug as bugs this holiday.
My best Christmas present is creating Christmas excitement for my girls, being with family, eating tamales and traditinal brunch, relaxing. Today we had a fun family portrait session then dinner with siblings and our families. Tonight my girls are at sleepovers, and Jim and I are watching a PBS special on the Taos painters.
Quote from the show: …more than ever the very best painting deals with who we are, where we come from, and why we are here.
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I met my father for the first time in October when I was 21. Met my half sisters on New Years Day a few months later. I would say that was my best Christmas present.
Also, falling in love with my husband that very same year was pretty amazing. And having my daughter 9 years later. Every year since then is a gift.
These last few years have been difficult. Lost my mom in ’08, and ’09 has gripped my daughter with an eating disorder, which is her business, so I don’t talk about it on my blog. But it’s difficult and scary as hell. We both lost jobs in ’08 and ’09, and were (luckily) hired back at our same companies in ’09.
’09 was also the year I took horseback riding lessons, a gift I gave myself. Also the year I started volunteering for Meals on Wheels…another gift I give myself. So it’s not all bad by any means.
I’m hoping that 2010 is a wonderful year for all of us. Not just us, but everyone.
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My friend, Lois, arrived safe and sound late yesterday afternoon. We went to dinner and then returned home right before the snow started again…another two inches or so. These snows have been the greatest gift for me with all the whiteness and how they stop humans from their lives of distraction if only for a few hours.
Gotta get the shovel and broom and head outside in a few minutes to sweep off the stairs and sidewalk and my friend’s car. The best thing is no one else will be outside and I will be surrounded by the silence of snow.
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I miss the quiet after a snowfall, too, when few people are out. It’s the closest I’ve ever felt to magic in the natural world around me. Spring is joyous and fall can be colorful and gorgeous and summer is fun — but when the world was covered in white, and all the sound muffled, there was magic in that, that I miss.
You speak of it as the “awkward time” between holidays and new years, but I like the reflectiveness fo this time of year, and the slower pace.
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This odd week, the one between the big holidays, is actually my favorite week of the year. The intensity of Christmas is over, and the older I get, the less compelled I feel to find a wild and crazy way to bring in the new year.
For this one week, I feel completely off the hook. I get to be still and reflect. What worked in 2009? What happened?
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I’m loving this week, too, Teri. I did a Writing Practice about it yesterday. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can be still. Relax. Let myself off the hook. In the past, any time I had time off, even on this last week of the year (which I almost always take off) I felt the need to use my time to produce, since time off was so rare. But now, reflecting on the year and on 2010 seems like the best thing I could do. That and sleeping in. 8)
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Hey J, your comment about how hard this year has stuck with me since I read it. I have heard from friends who’ve lost their mothers that this loss is much more difficult than one could ever imagine. I know speaking for myself, my mother is my best friend in many ways. She is the one person I know I can always call or stop by to visit, the one who more than anyone else I can just be me around. Also, I didn’t know about your daughter’s eating disorder. That must be so hard on you, as a mother. A feeling of helplessness, as eating disorders are so mysterious as to their causes and cures.
I have seen your mention of horseback riding. I think I commented on a post you did about that wondrous skill. I might have mentioned that my daughter is an amazing horsewoman, and that early this year I learned to lope her horse while not holding on to the horn of the saddle. Unfortunately, the saddle was too small and I ended up aggravating a sciatica nerve, which then laid me on my back for two solid weeks. Thus, my own 2009 horseback riding dream was cut short. (But in 2010 I will get serious about finding a good used women’s saddle that both she and I can use.)
I’ve appreciated your presence in 2009. Of course, I’ve also appreciated your wonderful recipes (as have my family members). Here’s to realizing our dreams and hopes in 2010.
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