Friday, November 26, 2010

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the US... you all know that, of course. But as evening came on, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself way over here in Europe. I had decided that I would decorate my own house for Christmas in an effort to forget that my Americans were celebrating without me, and so I began... and then it snowed.



My heart was not light. It was neither cheerful nor in the holiday mood (ask my kids!). But the unexpected did happen as the snow fell gently but determined from a dark night sky ... and that was love. A bit of love that I did not deserve in my grumpy state.



I had just set up the miniature Christmas town when my nearly teenaged son plopped down in our child-sized rocking chair to admire it. "Mom...this is really cute." He wrapped his arm around me. "Maybe we could find a way to light up the little houses!"



We sat that way for at least fifteen minutes, until we heard giggling from outside on the balcony. My eldest daughter was having her evening tea outside in the falling snow, wrapped up in scarves and the knitted blanket I had made for her, Christmas music plugged into her ears. She had been watching us stare at the Christmas village... "It's snowing!" And indeed, it was.



This morning, I woke up to postcard beauty.



Walked the little girls to school...and whispered a simple prayer.

Thank you for holding me.

8 comments:

Dawn said...

Oh Allison!!!
Your place looks like a postcard! THAT is what I think it looks like there!
(You know....when I was in high school we once had to write a paper on where we would one day want to visit and live. Switzerland was my pick, and it has been my dream ever since.
I am so glad I have met you (thank you texwisgirl for introducing us!!!!)...I can live there through your eyes!
There is a reason for everything even though while we are in it we can't see. And nor may we ever see.....until the end.....

I am so GLAD you have a teenager who still hugs you! SO DO I! Aren't they wonderful?:) (and WE are their teachers;)
You live in a very beautiful place~and you are so blessed with family. Even though your heart may be wanting to be somewhere else- aren't you so glad you are where you are for the most part?:))) I DO think I need to visit my "writing paper place". NOW that I know someone over there;)......

(Thanks for your comment today. I too have (a few) to forgive and it's hard. We are after all- human. (sigh).

Happy SNOWY hugs.
Hey! We should build snowmen when our snow is right and post them on the same day:) !!!!

Hugs to snowy Switzerland from snowy Canada:)
dawn

Out on the prairie said...

To savor what you had over what you didn't have worked well.I am going shopping with my youngest tomorrow, and fighting the crowds.It is a pleasure to get together however and well worth the time and effort.Wait, doesn't she still have one of my cards?LOL I sometimes just get the bills as a reminder where she has been.If it warms as they say Sunday I will do some outside decorations, that heavy heart comes and goes with the holidays when your family is away.Pick up that phone.

TexWisGirl said...

Are those your 2 girls in the middle photo walking in the snowy path?

You'll have to tell your almost-teenage son that his hug reached out and affected more people thru his sweet mom. Thanks for sharing it...

Enjoy that beautiful winter wonderland! Those pines buried in snow are just beautiful...

Nancy said...

Holidays sometimes have a tendency to spawn disappointments and that's unfortunate. I'm glad the day revealed some warm moments for you that made you feel better. :)

Meg said...

What a sweet memory you made yesterday! So happy you found something to make you feel better. And you live in such a beautiful part of the world!

carmilevy said...

Leave it to a child to turn a frown upside down. They really are magical beings, aren't they? Then again, you've got some magic in you, too, for being able to view your world with such grace.

In all seriousness, even my deepest funk would be turned around by perspectives like this. You are an amazing photographer.

Randy said...

Allison, I am so happy that you stopped by today so that I could discover your beautiful blog. I am now following your blog and look forward to more posts like this. You brought a special warmth to my soul today. Thank you.

Judy said...

I enjoyed catching up on your blog Allison. What beautiful snow photos. I especially love the top one. What a wonderful son you have :) My sons now grown still give me a hug and I enjoy it just as much as I did when they were young boys.