We go through days and seasons of busy-ness and calm, but this is the first year that I can say the holiday season is actually relaxing me. The old, familiar acts of honoring this time of cold and preparing for the soon-to-return light create a new framework for my days. They pull me away from the computer and back into a world rich with creativity and handmade works.
The tasks at hand? Creating an altar in honor of Winter; taking walks upon the frozen earth, cheeks red with cold; making beeswax ornaments to revive a bit of summer’s warmth (thanks to Gardenmama for the inspiration); crafting simple gifts from yarn and herbs, paper and paste; writing cards by hand to relatives and friends; cooking with the bountiful foods of winter, the turnips and beets, carrots and greens and leeks; making the spiced cookies my daughter’s great, great Grandmother brought with her from Russia.
All this and so much more bring a richness of purpose and creative fulfillment to these short, potent days before we gather with family, sharing love and small gifts and plentiful food. Sure, things will get wild at some point. But for now I’m heeding the call to be still. To turn away from the rush and towards the simple, thankful for a season that gives us so much to celebrate.
Have you seen the new e-magazine Rhythm of the Home? It is brimming with simple, beautiful ways to celebrate the winter. Consider it my gift to you!
Kyce Bello 