Feels Like Winter Now!

Snow finally. And I love it. I got the cross country skis out today for the first time in about ten years and skied about four miles at the state park. It was beautiful and so quiet. A couple of cars went through the park, but I didn't see one other person on the trail. The trail was a little rough for cross country skiing, and I think my skis need waxed or something. I wasn't moving very quickly, but it felt good to get outside and get a bit of exercise.

A Quiet, Snowy Winter Morning

This is my favorite time of the day. The kids are still asleep. It's so nice and quiet. I am sitting in my pajamas drinking my morning coffee and watching snow fall lightly upon my deck. I love these mornings when I can sit here as long as I want instead of having to rush around getting myself and my kids off to school and work.

There was something really nice about Christmas this year that I can't really describe. After four years of being "alone" at Christmas, I felt a certain measure of contentedness this year. I felt as if Christmas was finally what I wanted it to be. Christmas was more real for me than it has been in a very long time. It was slow-paced, about people rather than things.

My younger son and I went to mass together at 4 on Christmas Eve. Then he went with his father for a big family dinner and celebration on that side of the family, and I went to my friend Nick's house for the fourth year in a row. I met Nick when I lived in an apartment for a year while I was redirecting my life. He lived in the apartment above me. He and I and another neighbor, Dorine, got to be good friends. Celebrating Christmas with them has been life-changing for me, and I am grateful for their friendship.

Dorine is 85, and while she lost her husband to cancer quite a while ago, she has never stopped living a full life. She never had children but had such a wonderful relationship with her husband; I almost feel as if I knew him by the many memories she shares. Dorine is smart and funny and so outgoing. I love her zest for life, and I love listening to her stories.

Nick is Filipino, and it is through him that I have become more grounded in my meaning of Christmas. I remember, particularly, the second Christmas Eve spent with Nick and Dorine and many of Nick's Filipino friends and family. Nick had just moved into his new home after we had been forced by Olivet Nazarene University to move out of our apartments. This Christmas Eve was different than the previous year's celebration because Nick's sister and her husband were there and so many more Filipino friends than before. There was not one gift under the tree. Christmas to Filipinos is not about presents piled high but rather a celebration of food and friendship.

Spending Christmas Eve with Nick and Dorine and Nick's friends has become peaceful and comforting to me.

I spent Christmas morning with a friend/colleague from work, Martha, and her family visiting from California and Colorado. Martha invited me over for breakfast, and I enjoyed listening to their stories of childhood memories of Christmases past.

And my own Christmas later in the afternoon with my two sons was just as nice. We opened presents, and then I made their favorite meal (my baked mostaccioli), and we watched a movie together.

I hope your own Christmas celebration was peaceful and joyful and, most of all, one that made you feel happy and content. Merry Christmas, friends.

Christmas in Chicago

My boys and I took the train into the city yesterday; that has become one of our holiday traditions. We started off with a quick late lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern. I wanted them to see the original Billy Goat since they love eating at the location near the United Center. Then we wandered toward Daley Plaza for the Christkindlmarket, but all Colin had on his mind was Garrett's popcorn, and I promised he could get some, but when we got there, people were lined up out the door and out into the street. I promised we would go back a bit later. But that was a little disappointing for Colin. He just knew Garrett's would be closed when we returned.

Onward then to the Christkindlmarket, where I could spend hours roaming around, but my boys really didn't have much interest in seeing any of it. All they wanted was a cup of hot chocolate and to warm up somewhere, but they were good sports and let me do a little looking around without many complaints from them. It was cold and crowded, but we enjoyed it all the same. Hot chocolate, chocolate brownies, roasted almonds, German cookies, and a nice cold pilsner for me...what wasn't there to enjoy?

And we made it back to Garrett's to find a much shorter line. Happiness!

Week 16...and A Lot of Loose Ends

I don't know where the semester has gone. Another one on the verge of being over. And I sure feel it physically, emotionally. Now I am deeply buried in the end-of-the-semester grading. I spent the evening grading creative nonfiction essays yet still have short stories, English I essays, and Ancient and Medieval Lit essays to grade this week. Looks like I will be spending some time at my grading/writing cafe this week. It's hard to stay focused, though -- because what I really want to do is work on my last synthesis for my comprehensive exams and start studying for the exams... and head into the city for a film at the Gene Siskel Film Center... and a visit to the Christkindlmarket. Oh, and Berghoff's...I've been dying to go there for awhile now... and I still haven't seen the addition to the Art Institute. I am easily distracted. Can't wait for Christmas break.