Tonight I was thinking about the last two lines of this poem, “and miles to go before I sleep,” because that’s how I’m feeling as I’m preparing to go “home for Christmas.” So many things to attend to, so little time. I suppose I could have been sleeping by now if I had done my work earlier, but my daughter and I chose instead to go have dinner with my sister Ruth and her family and exchange a few Christmas gifts, as they are not traveling this year. It was a lovely few hours that I suppose I could have spent in final pre-trip preparations, but chose instead a lovely meal, wonderful rollicking company (we played several rounds of a fun guessing game), and time well spent with with my much-loved sister and her family.
We came home–promises to keep and such–to finishing the decorating of the tree, cleaning up a few things, packing a few more items, and then settling down to write this blog. My eyes hurt and I am a bit tired, so I may not write as much as usual. Something about this night reminds me of getting ready to drive out of California when I moved here, except on that occasion I wrote my blog on my telephone because I had no wireless internet and had packed up my computer. I sat there in the dark at 3 a.m. typing a few sentences into my phone before heading off to sleep. Tonight I am doing a little bit better. Tomorrow morning I’ll rise at around 4 a.m., get myself together, have a quick cup of coffee and hopefully write a few lines in my morning journal before Michal and I join my sister Sandy and her husband for another road trip. I look forward to seeing everyone back home, though not sure I look forward to the 10-plus hours on the road. Still, the weather is supposed to cooperate and in that regard it’s all good.
I am grateful. It’s just that simple. For too many things to list, I am grateful. For poetry and song lyrics that pop into my head that describe just how I am feeling at just that moment, I am grateful. For all the I have left undone that I no longer have time or energy to do, I am grateful. For the gathering together of family here in DC and there in Indiana, for the love shared over meals and packages, time spent together in communion of heart and spirit, I am grateful. At the end of the day, life simply doesn’t get any better than that.
