Advent 1

 Today is the first day of a new week, and the first day of a new month, and the first Monday of the season of Advent. 

"I should blog", I said to myself. 

"I should try to blog EVERY day," I then said, escalating things very quickly from do-able to not.

Recognizing the need for prompts, I scrolled through Facebook. All you really need is to pause on one idea and Facebook understands the assignment and provides you with a plethora of choices. 

Every day this month (oh, who am I kidding, everyday til tomorrow, probably), I'll choose one of the prompts (likely the easiest one) to use as a basis for that day's blog post. 

My options for today are:

• One thing I love about winter is ...
• My first feel-good memory of the past year is ...
• Three positive things that happened in 2025 are ...

 Oh, this one's super easy.

Three positive things that happened in 2025 are:

The first thing.  On July 11, Drew proposed to Mackenzie under the Weeping Willow tree at the lake. So many good feelings wrapped around this event. (I'd just flown across Canada with Mackenzie the weekend before, and spent 48 hours with her at Karyn's place in Toronto. That weekend was the highlight of my year.) I admire this girl and am blessed to have her join my family. Drew and her have been building a lovely life together so this engagement, the next step in their 'happily ever after',  brought much joy. 

A few days later, on July 17, the second positive thing happened. I had hip replacement surgery. I'm so glad that's over with. If I needed to get it done eventually (I was bone on bone, so I did)... this summer was as good a time as any. And now it's behind me. 

And the third positive thing? 

Clint and Karyn got engaged in Florence on October 14. I've waited a lifetime for this to happen. Haha. 

To say I'm thrilled would be an understatement. Their future life together meant that she would leave a job she was passionate about, move from a city she adored, say goodbye to relationships she'd invested heavily in ... I'm so glad she's taking a chance on love. It feels like she's been a part of my family forever. It's a lovely thing seeing Clint be so excited about his future with Karyn.

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. I'm so thankful (and a little in awe) of the way a person's heart can grow and expand so that it can love more and more people, without needing to make room by loving anyone less. It's a delicious mystery and I'm here for it.

2. I'm thankful that THIS year I remembered (in mid-November) the three Advent Calendar Villages I'd bought FIVE years ago and overjoyed I had the enthusiasm to fill the spaces behind those little doors. 

3. I'm thankful for days like today when my calendar was blank. I did not leave my house. I never even got dressed. The next ten days are nuts, so today was an absolute gift. 

Thanks for dropping by,

xo