Christmas Blues

Yesterday I had what I can only call "the Christmas Blues". I'm not sure what brought them on but they were prompted to stay by cold, dreary weather and a stuffy head. My mother used to say that Christmas was bittersweet. As a child I thought that odd. There we were, surrounded by tinsel, presents, yummy food and good music, so where was the down side? But she was an alien in a foreign land, as scripture says. We'd lived overseas ever since I could remember and she even before that - we were sojourners. It was the only way of life I knew, I didn't find it odd. But she knew another in her youth, and she missed the family and friends that filled those years but who she had left behind. (My mother would never have seen it, but her story is that of Ruth, only she followed her husband rather than than her mother-in-law - she'd never have done that! But I digress.) I suppose now I have more leavings than I care to think about and memories of them, for some reason, are stronger at Christmas, which, indeed, makes it bittersweet.

Here's to all those I've left behind. Cheers!

Saturday in the Park with Ben :>)

What a glorious weekend weatherwise we just had! One of those lovely fall days full of sunshine and warmth. Yet I woke with the blues on Saturday. I suspect we all have those unexplainable days occasionally. So to shake myself out of it I took my dog, Ben, to the park where they were holding a Children's Book Festival. It's a large park, so there was plenty of space to walk unencumbered but when we came upon the festival, what a marvelous crush! Children of all ages, faces painted, paper crowns upon their heads, carrying book bags, talking to local authors, listening to story-tellers, taking in WORDS. My blues floated away to merge with the clear, blue sky of that lovely fall day. And Ben enjoyed the outing, too.