We Wish You a Mellow Christmas

Sat 25 Dec 2010 Filed in: My Life | Photos | Grief Notes
We knew it would be a different kind of Christmas. There is an unavoidable poignancy to celebrating Christmas without Joan and Matt. Several people, knowing that it would be different, blessed us with invitations for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and in spite of our not taking advantage of any of those invitations, we are deeply grateful. This year we chose an intentionally mellow Christmas, and it has been very good indeed.

Our big Christmas dinner was aboard a Waterways yacht on Christmas Eve, sailing Lake Union and Lake Washington for almost three hours. It was a delicious meal, elegantly served, that lasted almost as long as the cruise.
Harp music, which both Suzanne and I enjoy, filled the boat. It got even better half way through the cruise when the harpist moved from her location in the lower salon bringing her harp upstairs and setting up next to our table. It didn’t take long for the musician-to-musician conversation to produce an invitation for Suzanne to try her hand at the harp. (Could there be a harp in her future? Maybe...)

Christmas Day was quiet and at home by choice, the wildest moments coming as the cat tried to unwrap the catnip gift that Suzanne had wrapped for her. A Christmas jigsaw is a family tradition, and Suzanne just finished this year’s version, she being much more talented than I at recognizing the relationships between the pieces. It has been an intentionally mellow Christmas, and it has been very good indeed.

Matt and Joan are with the Lord whose name Emanuel means God with us. The God that they are with is the God who is with us. Relaxing in His presence makes for a great Christmas.

Mellow Christmas, everyone!
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