Last of the Christmas cards—1988. It reminds me of Idaho, of the mountains and the tall pine trees in the snow. It's a good card for my mood today. I am thinking about my childhood, my brother, my sister, my parents. I am thinking about living in Southern Oregon with small children and days of cross-country skiing in the mountains. I know many people, especially here, who find peace and a sense of renewal at the ocean. For me the mountains provide that. This morning I was reading a blog in which the blogger claims she gets that sense of peace and renewal only in Paris. Ummm. OK. I suspect those special places in our lives are less to do with the actual place and more to do with our happy associations and memories. It is also my belief that if the place has a very distinctive smell, as well, it really triggers those strong feelings. My memory triggering smells are evergreen and sagebrush. Ocean people rhapsodize about the smell of the ocean, which has never done it for me. I love a trip to the beach, but it isn't the same as standing on a mountain trail, breathing crisp, astringent, pine-scented air and looking out across mountains beyond mountains, that eventually dissolve into sky.
I always think the week between Christmas and New Years is a time for contemplation, mental house cleaning and taking stock. I like to think about the year that is ending and quantify it with lists of trips, accomplishments, disappointments, losses . . . Yesterday our niece posted on Facebook that she had arisen early on the day after Christmas and starting putting away all the Christmas decorations and restoring her home to "normal". For me that task belongs to New Year's Day and is deeply symbolic of putting the old year behind me and making way for the new. So, Christmas, like the old year, is in its final days and I waver between celebrating those last remnants and looking forward to what is always the hope—the next year will be better than the last.
Where's that "Like" button?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely post. I agree fully about the mountains. I also want to add the smell of the log cabin my parents own and the feel of the wood stove... :-) And family all around.
ReplyDeleteConnie--My love of the mountains has a lot to do with the cabin my family owned and yes, there was a smell of raw wood and woodsmoke. I loved waking up to the sound of the fire crackling in the big fireplace. My dad always was up early to light the fire, so it wasn't so cold for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite of your cards - though making a choice is almost painful. Mountains, fir trees, high mountain meadows, rushing streams and deep gulps of air to scrub my lungs clean always create a great rush of well being and comfort. Just the glimpse of a Douglas fir towering into the sky raises my spirits and gives my soul a very special hug of familiarity. Your tree is definitely a Douglas fir! As long as I don't have to go out in it, I can even appreciate your arrangement of the snow. Perfectly lovely, Terry, thanks for making my Xmas.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and you know how much I also love the mountains. Pine and sagebrush are among the aromas I most identify with. Not so with Bill, Erica and now Jake.
ReplyDeleteThe way you describe the week between Christmas and New Years is exactly how I view the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as a Jew! We all need this sort of time some place in the year.
ReplyDeleteI have so enjoyed your cards. I'm in awe of the creative process that has produced such variety over such a long period of time.
Terry,
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed seeing all your old Christmas cards. They are wonderful! I'm with you on the mountain thing. The ocean is good, but I think I would rather be in the mountains, too.
You can take the girl out of Idaho, but you can't take Idaho out of the girl!
ReplyDeleteI too saw a Facebook declaration of glee about getting all the Christmas decorations put away, ready to take on the new year. I called her a scrooge, asked what happened to the 12 days of Christmas? I suppose some people have been "celebrating" since before Thanksgiving - Lord knows the merchants move up our focus on the holidays earlier each year - so perhaps they ARE really tired of it all. But like you, I like to savor the love and good feelings those days right around Christmas bring out in me an most others. I like to quietly reflect and prepare for whatever changes I plan in the new year.
May your final days of 2009 be filled with good thoughts and pride, and the beginning days of 2010 with hope and promise.
Indeed, Terry, this week should be a peaceful time and one for reflection on both past and future. Hope springs eternal.
ReplyDeletewarmest wishes for a satisfying and happy year ahead for you.