As interesting as this year has been, it has skipped its way through months, and here it is Christmas Day already. Last night, I found myself thinking about how Christmas itself seems like a season, almost.
When Little Bit was little we were enveloped in all the excitement of baking Santa cookies, Santa tracking on the radar, reading of all the Christmas stories, and early to bed.
There is a bit of a shift this year. Kids grow. And, grow. And, grow. Taller and older. Ha ha. I knew it was coming, and I’ve prepared myself a few baby steps at a time for the whole ‘not a baby anymore’ thing.
So far, for the most part, I am rockin’ it. We seem to be doing pretty well with the “growing up, things change” stage.
Last weekend, we went to our old town and went by our old house. Gosh, that place is beautiful. It was soooooo hard for me to leave there. He was two when we moved into that house and had the majority of his life there.
We moved here two years ago and it is home now, but going back by our old place kicked up the memories of how fast time is going by. I mean, we were on the gravel road we traipsed so many times to the mailbox and back, the same road we rode bikes on, and threw rocks into puddles on.
Memories gushed in. It was absolutely wonderful. We went to the creek where we have spent so much time. I wrote many, many blog posts about that place several years ago. We even passed the park where we’d spent countless afternoons and mornings on slides and swings.
Instead of early to bed on Christmas Eve, this time we stayed up late. I made cheesecake at midnight and Santa got fresh brownies and milk this time, instead of cookies. Kiddo was busy with other things, so I read the Christmas books to myself, which is fine, I still loved the stories.
However, Santa was still tracked via the radar and I was still informed what city he was in, which I love. Looks like the going to bed early, like in years past, has passed. Which is ok, too. More time with this once premie boy who is now taller than me!
Today, for old time’s sake, I am going to share a couple of pictures I took last weekend of the place I used to write about so much. Seems like things come around full circle sometimes.
If you are celebrating the holiday, I hope have a great one. If you don’t, I hope you have a wonder filled day. I am going to leave you with what one of my friends from Australia told me last night. Instead of merry, she said happy. Happy Christmas.
Thank you for reading!
Unmeasured Journeys 
Oooh, I loved this post. I could just feel your strong feelings for the old homestead through your memories and words. Wonderful writing and beautiful thoughts. Merry Christmas!🎄
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Oh my gosh, how nice! Thank you so very much! Sincerely!!
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I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
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Hi. We did, thank you. Stayed home this year, which was a bit different, but I enjoyed it. Hope you are doing great!
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We did two years of Happy Christmas in England, but we are back to Merry Christmas in the States. I hope your celebration was most rewarding.
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Ohhh, you were in England? How cool! It was, thank you. My husband made a huge pot of gumbo. Yum.
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We have a standard chicken casserole for Christmas Day. We hosted John’s family celebration on the 25th, while his mother and sisters hosted Christmas Eve, Easter, and Thanksgiving. I had to have something that could be done well ahead of time, because I was the organist and had to play a church service before we ate.
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That sounds delicious! And, bet it was fun to place at the church service!
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The Christmas Eve service was a bit nerve-wracking. For instance, one second before the men in the choir were to sing an a cappella intro, what starting note should I play for them? They usually went a half note flat. so perhaps I should give them a half note higher so they would end up in the right key. On the other hand, the intensity of the evening might make them a bit sharper, in which case I should give them the correct note. Some years I guessed right, and some years they sounded “off”. That was one second out of a 90-minute service.
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Oh my goodness!! The pressure for the perfect note!! Love how “in tune’ you are with the possiblities that might contribute to change from just right to a bit sharper. That’s pretty amazing. Do you have any videos on your site of you playing organ? I’d love to hear it.
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No, there are no videos of my playing the organ. I meant to choose one carol or anthem from our choir CD to go with a Christmas post, but I never got around to it. We had a dedicated group of parishioners who were outstanding for a small congregation. I told them I could play the organ and direct the choir or sing and wave my arms. I couldn’t sing, play, and direct all at once, therefore, we nearly always sang without accompaniment. There were only 9 to 12 of us. Super people!!
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Ah, how fun!! Sounds like a joy filled occassion!
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Christmas was bigger than life in our extended family.
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Wow!! How awesome!
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