As Christmas celebrations extend from expressions of spiritual faith to commercial excess, and as the “New Reality” of uncertain income and finances spreads across the land, even to Orcas Island, the spirit of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is still upon us.

Not so much about lords-a-leaping or swans-a-swimming, The 12 Days of Christmas is about the gifts of each day of Christmas, beginning on Christmas Day and extending to Jan. 6, traditionally the day when the Wise Men arrived at Bethlehem to give gifts to the Holy Child.

So today, on the 11th Day of Christmas, it’s a special gift to personally reflect on the gifts of the last 11 days, and on the idea that every day brings its gifts; sometimes we just have to appreciate them. Here’s some of mine:

Christmas Day

All my three adult kids and my husband were together with me in Seattle, helping prepare dinner, eating together amid conversation, and laughing at our good fortune of sharing health and happiness.

Dec. 26

I spent much of the day searching for my missing driver’s license; not anxious, but just wondering, “Why am I going through this exercise?” At last I drove to the licensing office, grateful that after a week of snow, I could drive across town. The DMV employee taking my picture couldn’t have been more friendly, and when I said, “This is the first time I’ve ever encountered a happy person here,” he responded, “I’m the change I want to see happen.” It blew me away.

Dec. 27

My daughter and I treated ourselves to a decadent, marathon, six-hour session in front of the television set, watching all of season one of “Mad Men,” which I introduced her to and she loved. In overcoming my “dashing about” habit, it was pure pleasure to just observe and comment on another soap opera beside my own.

Dec. 28

I drove back to Orcas Island, indulging my own thoughts, memories and plans in the two-hour drive – not listening to the radio, or music, or talking on the cell phone, just thinking and drinking in the beauty of the quiet, grey, Northwest winter, not worried about time or weather.

Dec. 29

My son and his wife, now living in Wisconsin, and their friends came over for dinner. My son came first and we chatted privately for an hour, then the others came and helped make dinner and then my husband “brought home the bacon” and barbecued halibut before we all sat down to a most excellent dinner. Then they raced off for the last ferry while we stayed home by the fire.

Dec. 30

I met with Michael Sky to plan an upgrade of Bullwings to include categories, forums and subscriptions. Started as a spontaneous, personal newsblog, I now want to make it easier for readers to search topics, and discuss Orcas Issues.

Dec. 31

I went to Friday Harbor to deposit a check at my Wells Fargo bank and deliver copies of The Fisherman’s Quilt to Island Studios, and had three hours to explore the big city. Lunched at the Garden Path café, shopped and tried on clothes at the second-hand store, browsed the bookstore to the bargain corner where I found a $3 sequel to 84 Charing Cross Road, which I never knew existed. It’s called The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and is every bit as charming as 84.

Jan. 1

I delighted in my resolutions: to learn more about internet technology each day, starting by looking up “Wii,” and to end my three-hours-plus of news-watching on television each night and instead read The Duchess.

Jan. 2

Had family-style dinner at a Thai restaurant in Seattle with my three children and their spouses. Now that they are all adults and have left the nest, enjoying their company all together again is a rare event; and, now that they’ve entered their 30s, I seem to have moved from being a watchdog that they avoid to a person they can count on.

Jan. 3

Breakfast with my sister and son Jeff and his wife Alyssa at “Tilth” restaurant in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. My sister and I fell into telling old family stories, this time of our three spinster cousins, whom she described as “horsey” and I described as “Amazons.” The silly spontaneity of our exchange delighted us all, and it was also fun to just visit between the four of us.

Jan. 4

Another drive back to Orcas, arriving at the ferry terminal in time to read from my next book, Mister Pipp, which was lent to me by Antoinette Botsford, from the collection of our friend Judith Struthers. So pleased that after all the stresses and distractions of life, I can once again sink into a book and care about made-up characters.

Jan. 5

So today – looking forward to a “business” day, and revelling in the fact that I’m self-motivated and enjoy ticking off business tasks, and maybe tonight we will celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary on the 12th day of Christmas, by taking down our beautiful tree and re-reading our holiday letters and Christmas cards before putting them away until next year.

These were just some of the gifts of the 12 Days of Christmas, pinpoints of light during the longest nights of the year. Others have told me of their little “miracles” or gifts, from transport to the airport to forgiving a long-standing dispute to finding a new job. How wonderful to focus on the gifts we receive and give to each other.

Tomorrow is the 12th Day of Christmas, but it is the first day of the rest of my life, if I should live that long. With the weather warming up, new energy to start fresh is spreading across the island. There’s lots of meetings, and rehearsals, and causes and study to entertain us as we savor the memories of 2008 and before, and look ahead to The Season of Peace, from Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 19 to the anniversary of Gandhi’s death on April 4.

The ultimate vision of the Season for Peace & Non-Violence is to promote a proactive, life enhancing awareness of nonviolent activism as demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar E. Chavez, and other heroic voices for peace through justice. Such a campaign is dedicated to demonstrating that non-violence is a dynamic way to heal, transform and empower our communities, our world and ourselves. From the Unity of Beaverton , Ore. newsletter, Winter 2008.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email