And, tomorrow night, a full moon!

It’s the Winter Solstice!  The older I get, the more I look forward to this turning point each year.  Granted, it takes a long time to really get the benefits of the longer days.  At about two more minutes of daylight per day, it usually takes until well into March before the chickens and I really notice the difference.  But it’s actually all about attitude, not necessarily reality.

Just thinking about those longer days goes a long way to improving my outlook.  I can cheerfully lug those loads of firewood into the house with double anticipation – a cozy fire tonight in the here and now plus the thought that it won’t be very long (in the great scheme of things) until we can be enjoying the out-of-doors until well after winter bedtime!  It’s always good to have something to look forward to.

Winter Solstice

I was reminded of that when Kuzzin Kris called last night.  She sounded dreadful.  “I have a cold and fever and am not fit to see man nor beast,” she said.  “Much less travel.”  Oh no!  There go our Christmas plans.  Without our ‘kids’ coming for the holidays, all our hopes were pinned on Kris.  We planned a little party in her honor, made sure that Santa knew she’d be here Christmas Eve to hang her stocking with care, stocked up on favorite old Christmas movies…  Damn!  Damn!  Damn!

What Pooh says…

But, the good news is, she is still coming after a three-day delay in her plans.  She’ll arrive December 26^th instead of the 23^rd and we’ll adjust accordingly.  She’ll miss out on Christmas dinner with Tucker and Carol and for that we are sorry.  But we have high hopes that our extended anticipation of her arrival will lead to an even more wonderful visit!  Today may be the shortest one of the year but our Christmas festivities will be the longest on record.  Get well, Kris!  We are full of anticipation!