While we're at it...

...let's talk about Christmas.

I'M SO EXCITED.

I spent way too much money on presents, but I spent it on things that hopefully my family will really enjoy and use.

I've got PLANS for FRIENDS that I don't see often.

Let's just say I'm super excited and hope that the time doesn't fly by (which it will.)

And now, a short vignette from NYT about giving.

"Gifts fit into Christmas because memory and narrative are their medium, as well as caring. Money is not the point. Our son, as a child, once gave us a Pyrex lemon squeezer for Christmas, of the kind driven by hand-and-wrist power, with little spikes to catch the pips.

For 30 years we have thought of him (on and off, and more or less) every time we squeezed a lemon. The other day the object fell off our kitchen counter and broke. We are both very upset. We’ll buy another lemon squeezer of course. But salad-making in our house will never be quite the same again."

Margaret Visser is the author of “The Gift of Thanks: The Roots and Rituals of Gratitude.”

It's that time again.

We've reached the last two weeks of December - time for a post about the past year.

Last year around this time and into the first days of 2009, I made a lot of trips in white-out snow to Northern Michigan. Along the way I listened to a lot of NPR. I remember a fair amount of the coverage being about the election of Barack Obama, and when they played clips of his various speeches and sound bites, I came close to tears.

I can't believe that it's December again, moving swiftly into 2010.

A lot of thinking happened this year, about my job and my career. My best friend moved away, but he still comes back to visit. (As it happens, he came home a day early and is sleeping in my bed as I write this. I'm at work, the last day before a long vacation. It's about time.)

In 2009 I planned, planted, and harvested my first garden. If you're reading this, heaven knows you are aware of my deep love for my garden. It's sleeping right now, too. I've toyed with planting a winter garden of spinach with a cold frame, but it seems like a lot of work and I am confident that being outside in winter is not as much fun as in summer. Plus I have too many books I want to read.

I ventured into the crafting world, completing two t-shirt quilts for my two favorite people on Earth. Briefly, I considered going into business and selling them for $600 a pop. Then I realized I don't have the patience for such an endeavor. There are too many pins, my mom would have to be my full-time helper, and I would need a (much) bigger sewing machine.

We had a lot of happy weddings in 2009. I believe I blogged about 2008 being a year of funerals, and how much I was looking forward to the weddings. They lived up to the expectations and were wonderful. A year-end round of loving congratulations to: John & Beca (5/2), Trisha & Scott (5/16), Kristen & Chris (6/20), Spencer & Cindil (7/19), and Amy & Bill (10/16).

2009 welcomed baby Rowan into the world, too. And for my dear friend Lauren, there wasn't a wedding, but a promise of one when she and Chuck got engaged.

Lots of new love and new life.

This year I was reminded again and again (and again) of how wonderfully fortunate I am to have such an amazing family. Every day I try to summon endless gratitute for their love and support, for their laughter and their honesty. I recently learned that the arbitrary circle we draw to include people in our families can keep changing, but it's the feelings that remain the same.

It's also the end of a decade (the naughts?). Over the past 10 years, I've moved from middle school, to high school, to college, and to a grown up job. Holy cow, that's a lot of change. This is the first end of a decade that I am able to think about in a very nascant grown-up way.

Which means I can't think of anything to say except... "WOW."

On the horizon for 2010: who knows?

Let's try to be more empathetic, and focus on others. We'll take ownership of our work and take pride in our accomplishments. Continue to be grateful, humble. Say yes to social events, call more friends, settle Catan, and continue our Archwood dinner parties. Visit the library more, read lots more. Sew those throw pillows. Go to the gym. Cook dinner with vegetables. Make big life decisions.

2009, it's been a real pleasure getting to know you, but I'm very much looking forward to 2010.

Lifelong Confusion

The following conversation occurred as I was preparing to receive the H1N1 vaccine on North Campus.

Nurse: "Are you right-handed or left-handed?"

Me: "Left-handed."

Nurse: "Turn your chair around, we'll do it in your right arm since you're left handed."

Me: "Okay."

Turns chair around with help of nurse.

Nurse: "You're the first left-handed person I've seen today."

Me: "...I'm not left-handed."

Nurse stares blankly at me.

Me: "Did I say I was left-handed?"

Nurse: "Yes."

Let this prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I have had a lifelong struggle differentiating between "left" and "right." Good grief.