The Goal that Wasn't

New Years. I remember as a kid, each year in January my dad would have us all pull out our journals and write down goals for the year. "A goal not written is only a wish." I'm pretty sure my goals were all well-intentioned, but after that day, I don't think I ever thought of them again. It was tradition. As an adult I'm a lot more careful about making goals. I don't just casually think something up, put it in my journal, and promptly forget about it. No, my goals are carefully thought out. They are worthwhile and achievable. Last year I picked three things that I thought were both these things, wrote them down, and left the paper out so I could see it all the time and be reminded. I found that paper a few months ago when I was organising; I think it had gotten swept into a stack of other papers within a couple weeks. Oops.

So my goal setting process is still a work in progress. Maybe next year.

Just kidding. I did actually set a goal for 2010. Just one. (Of course I have myriads of other things I'm working on, but I'm already working on them- this goal is something new.) I'm not going to write it down - but that doesn't make it a wish. This is something I am going to accomplish.

Just watch me.

What Christmas is All About

Family.

I could just leave it at that, but the blogger in me wants to elaborate. Of course, Christmas is actually a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but how bad is it that that's not what I get most excited about? It's an essential part, yes. A good opportunity to reflect on what His birth means to me. One of my favourite traditions is the Bethlehem dinner, where we spread a blanket on the floor and eat what Mary and Joseph may have eaten that night.

It's not about presents, either. Christmas shopping (the actual shopping part, not deciding what the people I love will exclaim over) is probably my least favourite part of Christmas. I have war wounds from that.

Rob and I were at Toys 'R Us in Kelowna, hoping to find a particular game. The parking lot was full, but we finally found a spot. A narrow one; the cars on either side had both parked right on the line, and we were in a minivan. Rob squeezed us in, though, thanks to his mad parking skills. We were close enough to the car on the passenger side that not only was my door unable to open, but even the sliding door on that side was a no-go. So I climbed over the car seat on the driver side to get out. It was the getting back in the same way that was my undoing. I'm not exactly sure how, but I landed on the car seat in an awkward way, and now I have some sweet bruises (see below).

But I was talking about my favourite part of Christmas: family. My definition of family includes blood-relatives, in-laws, and close friends. I love to get together with them. Laugh, tell stories, eat good food, and sit quietly and enjoy each others' company. I like to sing with them, watch old family videos, play with the kids, bask in the Christmas spirit and excitement.

For me, Christmas is not about what I get (although I am selfish enough to like that part, too) but the good excuse it provides to get on a plane and be with my family.

Frozen

Today is Sunday. I know, way to state the obvious, Sarah. Why don't you tell them it's December, too. Or that it's winter. Actually, the fact that it's winter is very pertinent to my story. You see, today is Sunday, so at 11am we get all prettied up and go to church. It's 11:17 right now, and I'm sitting at home in front of my computer, and Rob is in bed. That brings me back to winter. Have you ever experienced a prairie winter? Last week we had a big snow storm, maybe even a blizzard, and it's been snowing and very cold ever since. According to the weather network, yesterday had a high of -35 with windchill taking it down to -50. Cold, right? This morning, the air (outside, of course) was filled with mist, a cold, penetrating mist. It coated everything during the night, making the whole city sparkly white. It's very pretty. And very cold. Would our car start so we could go to church? The remote car starter (a must in Edmonton) failed to start it, so I went outside to try it myself. After nearly wrenching the handle off in my efforts to open the door, I could barely even push down the clutch. The car is frozen solid. I managed to get a couple click-click-clicks out of it, but that was all. We're stuck at home. The sad thing is last winter some pranksters decided to cut the plug off our block heater, so we can't even plug in the car. I'm not quite sure what our options are. But for now, we'll stay here in our snug and warm home, and enjoy the view.




Happy winter!