True Love

Speaking of hygge...

Its been warm enough the last few days for this...

And this...

And words can't express what it's done for my soul.

But the weight of winter is still so there.  The windows are shut and I'm still every day summoning my reserves to keep grouchy gills from overtaking this home.

If true love can thaw a frozen heart, then these two tea mixes are True Love.  

Here you go...put on the kettle, drink, and be merry...

Chai Tea Mix:
3 c. dry milk powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. unsweetened instant tea
3/4 c. vanilla powdered creamer
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves

Orange Spice Tea Mix:
2 c. sugar
2 c. Tang
1/2 c. unsweetened instant tea
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Store them in an airtight container.  Use a few hearty scoops in a mug of warm water for each.

Best with leg warmers and in the company of a good fat cat.

It is cold

And everything is chapped.  Chaps my hide.

I read this thing recently about "hygge" that people in Denmark do to maintain their status as the happiest people on earth despite the absolutely unbearable cold.  The word doesn't translate concisely.  It basically means:

It is effing cold, and you have two options:
1. allow your shoulders to tense up to your ears and your teeth to chatter out of your skull and your stone-cold heart to lead the way.  Or
2.  bundle up, settle in, slow down, breathe deep, build a fire, and wrap up in those you love.

So if you hygge, you pick #2.

The snow icecream lasted for one day.  Then it melted and the temp dropped to THREE DEGREES and guess what?  The cold does bother me anyway.

So I'm hygging...

Lighting fires.  Lowering the lights.  Roasting food.  Spreading the love.  Snuggling my great people.

Join me!  Hygge helps!!

merry and bright

Let's talk about "doing Santa".  We do.

Its not confusing to them.  That's a grown-up worry and little kids just don't care.  Confusing to kids are things like:

why do hair and fingernails grow but teeth don't?
why does dad say chicken nuggets aren't real food?
what do you mean Jesus wasn't really born on December 25 when that's his birthday?
why do I have to look at my presents under the tree for a week before we open them?
why is hot chocolate not a vegetable?

Kids say: Is it magical?  Is it believable?  Is it fun?  Does it involve candy?

Then they are IN!

The whole what-is-the-real-meaning-of-christmas-and-santa-makes-it-not-about-Jesus thing....I just don't see it.  As much as we adults would like it to be, Christmas is not about absolutes like stables and dates and incense and myrrh.  Its about God being so in-love with this insane world that he sent Jesus to it to teach us some really important things.  Its about the magic of family and generosity and hope.  Its about kindness and simplicity.  And we celebrate all that with things like sugar cookies, advent candles, presents, Luke 2, and Santa.

Eva figured it out around age 7.  Actually she realized that the Birthday Fairy (who leaves balloons in their room and a tiny gift by their door on their big day) was us.  So we wrote her a letter saying:

its us
its been a treat to play this with her
we are so happy she can believe in things she doesn't see or fully understand
she'll need that skill all her life long
the same thing is true with Santa
and now she'll get to help be the fairy and santa for the littles.

She was all-in as long as she still got a full stocking too!

This is the same Santa we've been going to see since Eva was 2.  He remembers her and gives her a big hug every year.  And with a twinkle in his eye asks what she wants for Christmas, even though they have silently communicated to each other that she's in on this gig.  He takes the time for each kid, looking them in the eye and reminding them that they are special and Christmas is special, and he sees them.  He is not in a hurry.

If we grown-ups want to be real with children about the meaning of Christmas, about who Jesus could be to them, we could begin by stepping down from our heads and taking a lesson from Santa.

Let's look them in the eye.
Hug them.
Ask them what they really want.
Get on their level.
Slow down.
Tell them they are loved.
Let hope crackle in the air between us.

That, my friends, is magical, don't you think?  That is merry and bright.  That is love.  And that is the spirit of Christmas.