handwritten on December 29, 2019
Tonight we went to a pretty excellent and incredibly festive Christmas Pop-up in the city of Pittsburgh. There were hundreds of decorations hanging on the walls with a bit of laughter inside, music playing and the chill of the wind coming through the door from the outside.
And I suppose what is interesting about this popup phenomenon is embracing the unplanned and thinking about creating memories "on a whim." Whim is certainly part of whimsy, and I think it forces us to allow popups in our lives-realize that what is planned is not always what is best and attempt to sometimes go where our heart leads us as long as the lead is not dangerous.
I have always been a planner, but 2019 was a year...
handwritten on December 28, 2019
One of the gifts given to my parents this year was finally a contraption that converts VHS tapes to DVD's. My parents have thousands of hours of footage placed on the VHS tapes from birth probably into the elementary school years. Even moreso than pictures, I think videos at different stages of life are probably the most timeless treasures. Becase nothing replaces the real live footage of our dad's parents who have now been gone for years or your grandparent's in their prime who are up and walking around in the grass outside when maybe they havent been without a walker or a wheelchair in years.
And though admittingly everyone's face has changed as time has passed by quicker and quicker...
handwritten on December 27, 2019
The best way to describe 2019 has been joy training. It's almost as if I decided to put joy training wheels back on the bicycle I was riding through life. If you remember training wheels and how they feel on the pavement, you know that they don't feel as smooth as wheels without training. Training wheels create sometimes a bumpy surface or it may even feel like you are tilted and trying to ride through life sideways.
It's a weird feeling but sometimes I think we all need a little bit of joy training. Because with those training wheels on, we certainly go slower and we feel the surface beneath us-which is a wonderful reminder to stop and think and slow down. Joy training has been something...
handwritten on December 26, 2019
Our second Christmas took place over at our favorite Northside apartment for a second gift exchange and mini-dinner party. I always enjoy my visits over there particularly because those are our people. For some people, I think it takes time to find close family or friends that seem like they are family. For us, we are pretty lucky because Nick and Tesin will forever be "our people." Most likely those will be the people we have our holidays with and that our future children look forward to visiting. No doubt that we hope to create the same environment for their future children some day too.
And how lucky we are that our people live 15 minutes away in an adjacent neighborhood right beside...
handwritten on December 25, 2019
This was probably one of the most relaxing Christmas Days I have ever experienced. A peaceful slumber mixed with gift opening and Chinese potato pancakes, coffee and piano and viola duets, a Christmas run soaking in the sun of the day and then a gathering at our third family's house with good company and conversation.
I think the best way to put 2019 in perspective is this idea that everyday should contain the excitement of Christmas. That energy you feel on Christmas should be felt every day of the year. Those new ideas that burst through your soul on Christmas should reveal themselves, too. And- it's the one day where if you are feeling a little lost, it is the hope that you realize...
