We spent Saturday night in Philipsburg. It felt good to get away. No internet. No television channels.
It was cold, and the fire in the stove burned all day and night to keep the house warm. It was just the four of us. Our small family, together.
My favorite parts:
~ Walking the dogs at the town park. I love our goofy, misfit pack of dogs.
~ Seeing Emma reading "The Outsiders." I read it at her exact age and to say that I loved it would be an understatement. I still own my ragged, dog-eared copy.
~ Watching "Home Alone" together as a family. We watch it every year, along with a few others — "Elf," "Christmas Vacation," "Rudolph."
~ Hearing my daughters chatting, giggling and making midnight snacks in the kitchen as I laid in bed.
Being together felt like such a gift this weekend. Life is so precious, so tenuous, such a fragile gift.
These past few days I've thought a lot about that gift and what it means to embrace life and how being in a state of fear can diminish joy. I am scared but I know I need to try to operate from a different place, for myself and for my family.
In this world there is much to fear, that is true. But there is much to celebrate, much to embrace, and so much beauty and love. My heart aches for all of it — the crushing sadnesses and the racing joys.
Wishing you peace.
Thanks for sharing your weekend, Jenny...for caring bout terrors and the terrorized, and celebrating Loves and the Beloved. Life is amazingly both: rejection and embrace, isn't it? Your post is especially lovely :) xx from Gracie
ReplyDeleteThank you Gracie. Life is both, along with all that gray space in between.
DeleteHi Jenny, beautiful words that stand alone. My seventeen year old son has become an avid reader over the last 18 months - something that I had not anticipated. He is reading books that I read at his age too - Virginia Woolf, for example xo
ReplyDeleteReading is such a huge part of my life. I hope my daughters will always be book enthusiasts as well. It's fun to share favorites and have a good bookchat every so often.
DeleteWell said Jenny. It must've been special to escape to the country with your family and keep them all close to you and away from the outside world. I think I would do the same thing if it were me. x
ReplyDeleteReally beautiful photos of the snowy fields, by the way.
DeleteIt was just what I needed, for sure. Thanks for the comment on my photos. I don't know what that seedy plant was - probably some noxious weed, but they looked so pretty standing out there.
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