I hope you have made it your tradition too. To share a nice meal, turn the lights down, que up the old, black and white version, and watch, again, It's a Wonderful Life.
We kept our annual tradition and did just this tonight. What a great movie. Think of all the lives you have touched over the last year. There are so many things that you probably don't even realize which have made a difference in someone else's life.
I think of a recent suicide. Heart wrenching for those left behind. I wish Clarence the Angel would have been around to show him all the people he touched. All of his generosity and giving. And now, he is gone.
Mike and I and the kids went for a beautiful winter walk this afternoon. The sun came out, it felt warm enough to take off the rabbit hat and tie the top layer around my waist. The sun, far to the south, was shrouded in a halo of frosty ice crystals. Elk tracks zig zag and criss cross helter skelter through the flat white snow laden fields. We walk a mile, then turn up a boot path I have been beating down since the snow started to fall. It's an incline and I drop my coat and hat alongside the trail to be picked up coming back down. We pause at the top of the hill, breathing hard, taking in the vast expansive rural scene. It is quiet. No birds. No elk on the hillsides. Just the sound of the dogs leaping through the deep snow and the crunch of our boots under foot. The air is fresh and clean and smells like snow. Shadows lengthen and we turn back.
Rooster rabbit-jumps into the deep snow, his nose guiding his body to the next smell. He buries his head deep looking for the mouse that surely was just there. Ruby tries to keep up, her short legs never touching the ground in the open field. They romp and play and have the best of time together. So much joy the dogs show us. Watch closely and learn.
There is no tree, there are no decorations and there are just a few wrapped gifts here in this warm and wonderful country home. We are surrounded by gifts; a vast view to the south out our windows, wood to burn in the fireplace and heat up our mornings, an espresso machine so generously given to us by friends who should know how much they touched us with this generous gift, two loving dogs, a friend and partner to share the days with, good food and good spirits, family and friends who reach out and check in, making it oh so very clear how loved we are in this life we share all together.
It is, indeed, a Wonderful Life.
