2019: New Year, New Grace
Christmas at the homestead was happy smiles and high vibes.
We even got to the movies Christmas Eve to see Clint Eastwood’s ‘The Mule’. It
was a quiet, close-to-home holiday, peaceful and gentle.
Santa stuffed our stockings with cool gifts like (for me) oatmeal
soap, maca powder, cherry incense, Fieldburgers, zebrawood earrings, African
black soap, a Vegan Veins t-shirt, Bangkok peanut sauce, vegan chocolate, a
Bioscarf (yes!), Sienna Byron Bay vegan nail polish, soy candles, a
subscription to Peppermint Magazine, and sea turtle necklaces.
My husband got his first vegan belt, recycled wool socks, recycled
cotton socks, Halla Halla shorts, a SunTurtle solar lamp, a Swedish FireKnife, a
recycled cotton beach blanket, two faux sherpa-lined winter shirts, and a gift
card to his favorite boating supply. His generous son gave us restaurant gift
cards. Food is always a great gift.
We had dinner Christmas eve, opened presents, then chilled
for the night. On Christmas day, we relaxed more and counted our blessings,
then headed out to do some community service in our town.
And so, 2018 winds down. It was a good run - much personal
growth, insights, spiritual discoveries, great books, yummy home cooking, conversation,
the love of animals, and time on the boat. The effects of climate change
wreaked havoc with the gardens, but from it we learned new ways of gardening
and producing our own food.
I liked the rhythm of 2018. Lots of
opportunities to rest, pace ourselves, be grateful, change
perspectives, release the past, be kind, help family and friends, and distance ourselves further from
people and places that don’t serve our highest and best interests. We’ve been
refining, growing, and exploring. Being of service. Learning new ways to speak
and be. It was a year of evolution.
Now, we dig in our heels and walk through cold winter. Here
in northern Connecticut, you can smell spring sometime in late April. That’s
four months off. My husband is dreaming of putting the boat back in the ocean,
and I’m already thinking about growing garden food. I’m thinking of the boat
too. The ocean has become our second home.
New year, new grace. Let’s see what possibilities life sends
our way.
Barbie xo
