Simplicity of the Holidays

As I sit here in my parent's living room, sipping my peppermint tea and eating date nut cookies made lovingly by my Aunt, I am reminded of the simple pleasure of being around family. I thought, as I sipped my tea, that later -- when I go to bed -- I would journal about the day's events. Then it dawned on me that by the time I arrived in bed the fire would have died down, the tea would be cold, and I would be so tired that I could not even hold a pen in my hand much less keep my eyes open long enough to write. So, instead I take to the world wide web, the blog, the public journal. Which, to my old fashioned heart, sort of pains me. Since I've been home, on break, after the day's events I spend evenings on journeys with such characters like Puddn'head Wilson who solved a murder on the banks of the Mississippi River and have even traveled to the dwarf mountains with Bilbo Baggins and his motley crew; so, to type my thoughts instead of penning words on the pages on a blank journal takes a little bit of joy out of me. It's this mixing of the world of technology and the old fashioned life of simplicity that I find hard to balance. In my heart, I find joy in sitting on the couch, curled up in my heated fleece blanket flipping through the pages of adventures penned by great men such as Mark Twain and J.R.R Tolkein; yet I find the same joy - and some humor - in sitting on the same couch, curled up in the same heated fleece blanket playing words with friends with my parents - all of us sitting next to each other on our cellular devices. Instead of pulling out the board game scrabble, we play a game on our phones. It is quite humorous. I think the most joy I've found, in these days of Christmas and New Year holidays, is just being with family. So, whether it be old fashioned in nature, or flooded with newer technology, being surrounded by family keeps my spirits up. My birthday brought 30 plus family members to my parent's home and I loved every minute of having everyone from my grandparents to my baby cousins all under one roof.

I have relished in delight as my immediate family played the board game of taboo and the laughter that my brother brought made even losing fun. Even as I type this little entry of thoughts my dad dances to a song playing from a commercial on the TV and I am again delighted. I spent the day with my cousin, whom understands my heart in ways that no one else can, and I am reminded that even a cup of coffee and a small chat can bring warmth to a sometimes sad heart. I am blessed. I think I've just loved being saturated in the goodness that the Lord has brought into my life, and have found such pleasure in simple routines. Cooking and shopping with mom, seeing old friends, putting on PJs at 7pm and hanging with the parents at night has been so refreshing to this worn out soul. So, I guess in retrospect it really isn't the day's events that I want to journal. It's the moments with loved ones that I want to cherish, hold close and never let go. I will not even think about going back to reality, back to the cold, lonely house, and busier times. I will stay here and reflect under my heated fleece blanket, sipping my peppermint tea, savoring the last of my date nut cookies about the life the Lord has blessed me with.