Gifts From the Heart

While my husband is upstairs being sick (this is the first time he's had a fever in a LONG time), I thought this would be a good time to reflect as we coast into Christmas.

Ever since we moved away from DC, my whole outlook on the holiday season has changed.

Last year in North Carolina, well, we did go back up to DC for almost 3 weeks, but I don't remember stepping foot in a mall to do any Christmas shopping.

And this year has been no different. Actually the only difference between this year and last is that last year we could be a 'little' more generous with gifts, and this year (sorry gift exchanging friends), we really aren't able to. This year, gifts are coming from 'the heart' and not from 'the mall'. But the thing is, as I look at our Christmas tree and the emptiness underneath, I'm not really sad about it. We pretty much have everything we need.

I mean, we have a nice small house which I can proudly say I decorated. We have paintings from Argentina on our walls, hand-painted ornaments that I have received from one of my clients every holiday season, a photo book I made for Jon after the honeymoon we took almost two years after our wedding, and my favorite, a mosaic mirror that I received from one of my best friends, Theresa, who was so thoughtful, that she took a piece of wood from my father's house before it was burned down (yes, on purpose), as she knew she would make me something with it one day. And that something is now a mosaic mirror that is hung neatly next to the front door of our house. And it is really, very special to me.



I think about these wonderful things that have been given to me with love by my amazing friends, gifts not from the mall, but that were from the heart, and I'm not so sad about our empty little tree. Yes, we might not have much this year, but we have our morals and our hope that life will continue to get better. And I have to say, though I know I'm not helping the economy this year with holiday shopping, I have felt the 'spirit of the holiday season' much more than I ever have before and I am so thankful for the beauty of the sparkling Christmas tree, and the peace I feel in my heart.

And, I end this not with a Christmas song, but a song that whenever I hear it, stops me in my tracks, because it's just so lovely. Enjoy.