Winter Solstice

 Ready or not, Christmas is almost here!

I am definitely leaning towards the "not ready" side of holiday preparations but I am optimistic (perhaps overly) that everything will come together soon. Today is Scott's last day of work before the break. This year he is going several days longer than he has in previous years. Having him working into Christmas week is different for us and it is wreaking havoc with my prep and spirit.  

In addition to being Scott's final day of work before break, it is also Winter Solstice. Every Winter Solstice I can't help but smile as I remember a solstice ceremony my Mom and I attended decades ago. I was in college and I didn't know anybody else in attendance, yet my relative anonymity did little to quell the embarrassment I felt as I watched my mother whip some bongos out of her ginormous purse so that she could drum along with the chanting. 

I do not embarrass easily but I remember wanting to shrink into the wall as I watched my mom happily tapping along on her bongos. (The fact that she just happened to have bongos is a topic for a different blog.) I'm not sure why I was so embarrassed because I remember there were many happy bongo players at the ceremony. There was something about seeing my own mother participating with such zeal that melted my late teen confidence. 

Decades have passed since the bongo experience, yet it still brings a smile to my face. I think every kid needs an experience of being absolutely humiliated by their parents actions- even if the parents are not doing anything overtly egregious. The Winter Solstice Ceremony was mine.