Sunday, December 23, 2012

Wintry Solstice

By definition, and expectation... Winter Solstice is the shortest day of light in the year... while the Summer Solstice is the longest. Both were observed and were celebrated by ancient peoples as religious rituals. In Western culture, our celebration centres around Christmas... a shortened up version of its initial high religious celebration marking the birth of Christ... Christ's Mass. Candles were first used to bring light to this dark part of the year in churches and then on fir trees in the home. Today "we live better... (and decorate our trees... homes  and yards) ... electrically.

Deb and I had decided before our move to Rockport, that our Christmas celebrations were going to be reshaped dramatically and would be centred closer to home. Time has grown our wee ones into adult and young men and women and they have begun to embrace and create their own traditions... some with their own wee ones now. We will celebrate Christmas here in Rockport simply this year... alone for "the Day"... and by choice. In the past, our Christmas has always centred (as it should)... around the presence of Children... the ritual of Christmas excited morning awakening and gift exchange... and the creation of the traditional Christmas turkey dinner. That... more or less could likely describe the way most homes go about celebrating this event.

Deb and I have declined the generous and thoughtful offers by members on both sides to come for Christmas... so not... "to be alone." My youngest family members, Bryn and Liam live with their mother in Aurora... a six hour journey away near our old home of Hillsdale. Liam the oldest (18 years) has his first job at Cineplex-Odeon... and must be on tap during the first part of the holidays to man his Yogen-Fruz station. So we will be celebrating our Christmas with them later this year from January 2nd through to January 6th... and that's as it should be... still centring upon them... and on their schedule of availability.

We planned very early on, to celebrate with Lisa, Allison and Andrew here in Rockport because all live in and around this area and all would be here to celebrate. We chose December 21st... Winter Solstice as the date to get together and celebrate "The Sherman Christmas." All drove... and drifted safely to Islandsview on the wings of a winter storm... a storm that caused Rockport to be stripped of power for almost twenty-four hours. Talk about throwing a wrench into the party plans! No lights... no stove... no electrical heat... and no "Plan B"! We had agreed to cook together... each bringing a portion to support Allison's agreed upon contribution of the "turkey substitute... Grandma Sherman's beloved and simple to make and yummy Tater Gem Casserole. All brought favourite celebratory "beverages" of choice and Andrew a dessert. Sounds like a makings of a potential flop and disaster... right? Not so!

I luckily had received my delivery of firewood on Thursday and had spent an hour kindling a goodly portion for later use ... when winter might appear. So the heat problem was overcome... when the hearth again became the centre of home activity. I simply fed the hungry fireplace for the entire evening... and I rose before the rest in the morning to rewarm the frigid interior. As Allison suggested: "Just like the pioneer days!"
The food issue was a trickier problem however... given that travel was out of the question because the roads were treacherously snow-covered and icy and the "main course" Tater Gem was out of the question as a "starter" in the game. Luckily, Deb had prepared hors d'oeuvres and two salads in advance... intended to launch every one's appetite before the main course was created on site.

So simply rebuilding the menu around what was possible... adding cheese and various snacky crackers and nuts and lowering the meal expectation happily in unison... the party re assumed its celebratory mood. The planned Christmas candy making and Catan board game was as well replaced by conversation... weaving itself between deep and shallow... evolving at times to giddy and gut -bursting laughter.

In short, a Christmas celebration that could have resulted in a huge flop and disappointment...  morphed into mirth and sheer joy.This Christmas will forever be remembered as the "Wintry Solstice" Christmas... a memorable time when Modernity took a step backward and Christmas Past came forward to save the day! Thank you all... Deb, Lisa, Allison and Andrew... The eastern branch of The Sherman Family... for making this Christmas so memorable and special !

Much Peace, Love and continued rich blessings to each of you!

Merry Christmas!

"Santa"
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Merry Christmas to ALL!!!!

14 comments:

  1. What a wonderful story! I love your spirit and willingness to deal with the situation in a happy healthy way. I can see how it would stand apart from other Christmases and forever remain an extra special day. Merry Christmas and happy painting in the new year.

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  2. Good Morning Susan!... Good to hear from you again!

    Yes... if only the world could pull together with the same degree of cooperation and flexibility... many of the current tragic evnts and inequities wouldn't seem so impossible to overcome.

    The human spirit when used cooperatively can triumph over most any challenge!

    Merry Christmas... Rich blessings!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  3. Thanks for sharing the beautiful Christmas story, Bruce! Very much resembling "Walton's Mountain". A gem of a memory!
    Merry Christmas to you and your family!
    Blessings, Dean

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  4. Hi there Dean!... Thank you ever so much for your kind and generous comments!We are far from the "Walton Family"... but the story is a gem and the incident will be memorable to us all for the way that it turned out... couldn't have planned the outcome better!

    Mey Christmas to you Dean! Much Peace... Happiness ... Good Health and Prosperity! I look forward to very visit and sharing back and forth!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  5. Your celebrations sound wonderful, Bruce! I love the pioneer way you managed. This old farmhouse is a beauty too! Merry Christmas to you and Deb and I hope your alone time celebration is a joyous one.

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  6. Good morning Sherry!... Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    I hope that your own Christmas is equally memorable... and that The New Year is full of Peace... Health... Happiness... Prosperity... and Good Art! HA HA!!

    Thank you for your always cheery presence Sherry. That means a lot... and is a gift who receive it from you!

    Keep Shining!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  7. I love reading your thoughts and your stories. It is at these times when one has to cope with unusual circumstances, when everything is not 'perfect' one must use one's imagination and inventiveness to overcome the difficulties. This as you experienced made for a memorable evening and was probably even more joyous than if everything had gone to plan.

    I wish you a peaceful and fulfilling Christmas as you have chosen
    Warmest Regards
    Diana

    P.S.
    Of course the painting is wonderful as usual!

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  8. Good Christmas Evening Diana!... Everything that you have shared in response to this post mirrors my own thoughts on the matter!Life is not perfect... nor are we.One's imagination... inventiveness and the support of those who love us lift the impossible into reality... and even allows us to soar to greater heights!

    I wish you and your family a Christmas as full of joy and magic as my own!

    Rich blessings and Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  9. I am glad you all managed to have a lovely time together inspite of the icy exterior causing the electricity to fail. Sounds like you had a great get together, glad you had lots of wood ready to keep the home fire burning! Merry Christmas!

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  10. Merry Christmas Highland Lass!... Yes... The wisemen and the angels did manage to find their ways to Rockport... and despite the freaky weather and lack of electricity... we managed to make merry and to enjoy what we all feel was a very special Christmas celebration together.

    Wishing you the same in your neck o' the woods!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  11. Your Christmas sounds like heaven despite and because of the lack of power. (I'm glad that you had heat though.) -Best wishes.

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  12. Hi there Lisa!.. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

    Yes it was the best of times... but well could have become the worst of times for our family celebration.

    Nothing was missing from our celebration... simply because everyone made the effort to pitch in... not complain and to remain focussed on our original reason for being together. It became simply... special!

    Wishing you all the best... and good painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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  13. Bruce just read your Christmas Solstice - wonderful job making lemonade out of life's lemons - I am sure the memory of this special Christmas will outlive many of the other traditional ones. God Bless for sharing this with us!!

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  14. Hi there Debbie!.. Thank you for your visit and for your encouraging comments about this year's Rockport Christmas surprise!

    It is true. When life presents adversity... one can often discover an unexpected opportunity to find blessings one could never hope to experience when things are moving along rosy!

    Good bless you and your family as well!

    Good Painting!
    Warmest regards,
    Bruce

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