“Now birds that sleep in brittle trees,
Sparrows and jays and chickadees,
The last, last robin, and the crow,
Awake beneath your thatch of snow
And hearing bells of midnight ring
Rouse up and through the darkness sing
How in your dreams across the snows,
A star, bright as a sun, arose.”
~ Elizabeth Coatsworth, Woods’ Litany
Good things in December:
The neighbors checking in on each other, getting trash cans and mail
Hanging paper snowflakes with Addie
Serving green beans to a hundred kids and feeding applesauce to babies in high chairs and throwing fake snowballs all day at Holiday Hangout
Putting up the tree and eating Mom’s chili
Sighting in my bow before sundown, cold fingers, and Trent and Janaya hanging lights on the roof
New fine tuners on my old violin
The square downtown, all lit with Christmas
Breakfast in a bright hotel lobby
Good morning hugs
Coffee and honey
Brisk morning runs
Afternoon work at the dining room table with glasses of apple cider tea and books around us
Downtown Van Buren at Christmastime: the train, bookshop, vinyl store, and the oldest courthouse west of the Mississippi
The long, rocky pier at Lake Dardanelle, soup in thermoses, and the brilliant white light on the water
The bracelet Jared gave me
Riding the train around Creekmore Park at Christmas
“Gather ‘Round, Ye Children Come”
“Behold the Lamb of God” in glorious, live concert; artists in the round; the story of a true King told beautifully and resoundantly
Papa Jay explaining his winter morning routine: light the kindling in the woodstove, put the coffee on, make the beds, shave
Baking and scoring sourdough loaves to give to my friends on Christmas
Fine dining at a lovely, old plantation home with wreaths in all the windows
Christmas Eve choir rehearsal
LaShanda
The day before the 23rd — writing cards, sealing envelopes, wrapping gifts in brown paper, dicing celery for soup, packaging bread loaves, and then going out for Mexican because we were tired of the kitchen
A houseful for Christmas, including all seven grandkids and seven more great-ones, plus coffee and meat and toys unwrapped
How Atlas remembered and came running to me a few days after I met him
Playing Mrs. Barb’s violin behind the choir on Christmas Eve morning, just after she came up front to read Isaiah’s prophecy about the King
Waiting in the parking lot under a full moon on Christmas Eve, the church bells tolling six
China King with friends, all in our dress clothes
The truck ride home, and stopping for Christmas lights at the house that goes crazy
A Christmas morning hug
Sourdough biscuits baked in cast iron
Bread and quilting supplies
Ping-pong, and Sinatra records playing on Papa’s old stereo
Watching Holiday Inn
The cobbled streets downtown, a bright sun on the river, wind and hot soup on the rock jetty, warming ourselves in the sun corner of the coffee shop, the old post office, and lit trees in the park after dark
Wind-chapped faces
The first snow, a gentle one
bethanyjlincks.com 
That sounds a lovely December. May your 2024 be blessed 🙂
LikeLike