Yard Debris and a Ladder

The other day I was at Safeway and found myself discussing my cereal choices with the checker; Yes, I had an entire analysis(or verbal vomit depending on who you ask) regarding my selection of cocoa puffs and oatmeal squares. That poor checker. As I grabbed my bags and walked out the door I sighed. It had been such am overwhelming day that my interpersonal capacity had been reduced to cereal scrutiny. But some days are just like that.
On such days I find sanguine reflections the best remedy... because sometimes it is better to mull over past delights and triumphs then wallow in the dregs of the day.

So here are my grasps at sanity via the reflection of memorable moments over the past two (busy) months.

December began with a lovely visit from Sean's parents. They happened to arrive on a sunny Seattle day (remarkable being December) and we roamed the various charms the city had to offer. The weekend continued to be filled with gladness...that is until we decided to go Christmas tree hunting. This being our first Christmas together in our own home we were dedicated to making it as Christmas cozy as our penny-pinching tendencies would allow. For those of you that don't know, the State of Washington is labeled the "Evergreen State" due to its bounty of evergreen trees and lustrous forests. This would lead most to believe that a humble 6 foot Christmas tree would be easy to come by at an affordable price. Four Christmas tree farms later we discovered the quest for our tree would not be cheap nor easy...on average a scraggly tree was $60. Seeing as we were going out of town the next weekend for our anniversary then spending the week of Christmas at our families homes, it hardly seemed worth the price to have it grace our living room for a mere couple weeks.
Despite leaving empty handed the weekend was a marvelous adventure of starting the Christmas season right: exploring the city and trudging through the forest with family.

Monday came and I kept thinking our living room lacked the Christmas Cheer I have always been so fond of. It was time to get creative. A dear friend of mine had shown me a picture on Pinterest of a Christmas Tree ladder. I explored this pin and found out that they had simply put a tree inside a wooden ladder...cool but didn't help my situation. I went in out backyard for inspiration. In the far corner was a pile of evergreen trimmings from the giant trees surrounding our house that Sean had cut down months ago. Thanks to all the rain the branches/trimmings were still green.
Bingo.
Armed with twine, scissors, a ladder,  and a CD of Christmas music, I began to create a tree and was pleasantly surprised.

The following weekend Sean and I celebrated One Year of being married! It was a marvelous weekend of celebrating at a cozy cottage up in Bellingham right on the Bay. We ate well, had fun learning how to blow glass, and toured some fun back roads. On our wedding day we had our bridal parties and parents write notes and put them in a bottle for us to open on our anniversary. It was SO delightful to read (by candle light of course) through everyones notes of advice, recalling of stories, and words of encouragement. It quickly brought us back to how we met, the commencement of our dating, and then all the wild and wonderful emotions and stories that led up to our wedding day.I feel so blessed to get to live life with that man-Cheers to many more years!

Christmas time was filled with laughter, eating, family, games, more eating, and friends. Sean and I were able to take a good chunk of time off to escape to Oregon for some good time celebrating of the season. We then rang in the new year with our dearest of friends, on a mountain, in the snow. Fabulous.

Then it was time to get in the groove again. Switching from holiday fun, playing in the snow, eating turkey dinners, staying up late mode to wake up at 5:30 a.m. for work and routine mode is not always the most smooth of transitions. The most difficult part of this was realizing how hard the holidays are for many people, especially the dear families I work with. Many have lost loved ones and feel like they have little, depression kicks in and instability rises. I came back from my joyous holiday to a very heavyhearted scene. As far as work goes, January has been a time of helping families pick up the pieces from a very difficult point in a year full of trying circumstances. It has put me in a very contemplative state but has also prompted me to really look at what matters in life. Relationships. Although I heard some very tough stories one thing remained constant, this person who reached out, that person who cared. Each family I interact with have at least one person in their life that they feel supported by or cared for. For some it is the grocery clerk that they see every time they go get food for their family who helps them bring their bags to the car. For others its a sister or a neighbor. People want to be cared for and recognized, even if it is by the friendly greeting of a total stranger. 

I am incredibly thankful for the beautiful souls that are my dear friends and family, and for moments to reflect on these blessings of life. 

 I am also thankful for the kindness of the Safeway checker, humoring a stressed human being by talking about cocoa puffs. Because sometimes the seemingly insignificant acts of smiling, listening, holding the door open, help people realize there is more to life than present stress or pain. There is love and there is hope.