The forecast for the year shows good promise of debts washed away and green showers in the bank. Light challenges mixed with heavy adventures will continue through. 99.9% chance of extreme growth and stretching, along with bright futures beyond.
Ben and I have spent a bit of time lately looking at our bank accounts. We are pleased to see that, after years of being in debt from loans and such, we might finally see a clearing by summer this year. I don't doubt things might shift in scale again one day, but we are pleasantly surprised to see that we might be able to settle things a bit in the near future. I know that whatever we have or don't have is still only what we THINK we have or THINK we don't have, all dust, all vanishing, but still....it is nice to heave a sigh and say there is a few chapter investments that we are concluding before moving onto the next.
Along with excitement over our savings, we are a little nervous and wondering about the holidays. I have found myself itching for ornaments and shiny things and sounds and smells that we SO take for granted back in Canada. The things I will miss this year THE MOST are all those little family things that make the holiday perfect in every way. Lately, I have been thinking about how much I will miss the annual ceremony of picking out the family tree. I have been telling Ben and others that I have no idea HOW I will substitute something in its place. The day usually consists of our family heaving into the big blue whale (our fully furnished Chevy Beauville tinted window van) and trekking out to our usual tree farm in Langley. We are typically bundled in boots and hats and mittens and always bring something hot to drink. All this and an ax and whatever else we can grab in order to mark our favorite trees. We wander together through fields of character trees, knobby branches, plump bumblers, and wobbly Charlie Browns. We chirp and chatter about each one and find the treasures that tug at our heart-strings. Mittens, hats, scarves, wrappers, fluff and string, all tag random trees so that one by one we may re-visit each candidate's choice and the tagging advocate may plead their case on why it should be this year's shimmering honor. I don't think my tree ever really got picked, I have a soft heart for the scraggly ones, Bradley and I can never get enough of the weird and wonderful. Scott tends to have an eye for the genuinely large and proud trees, grand beyond belief and usually fit for a great hall of some sort. Gary always picks something loopy or wacky. Dad carries the saw. But mom is by far the very BEST tree picker. Without fail, I am pretty sure, almost every year we have carefully cut, carried and adorned, one of my mom's most lovingly chosen trees. She has an eye, and as mentioned, quite the heart, for the perfect tree, and for Christmas itself.
When I was younger I loved Christmas, I was the first one up in the morning, giddy with shallow quick breaths and quiet while gazing at the whispering lights. But, for a while, I am not quite sure why, I lost my connection to it. I lost the feeling, the magic of it, the amour for it. But 4 years ago it captured me again, not sure why, or how, or what triggered it, but I was glad to see its return. So the ache of Christmas away from family this year is growing, and might grow greater as the days get closer. Together, Ben and I are hoping to, somehow, make things special this year. Soon we will look for a tree (a fake tree of course, since real trees don't match our 20 dollar limit at the farm, I hear in TEDA they start at 1000 RMB or $150 Canadian), and I have started downloading all the favorite Christmas movies (we have a nice big white wall and possibly a projector to borrow).
Anyways, there are lots of Christmas memories that flood back when I think about it even for a moment, so I have am looking forward to making new ones and seeing what happens again soon. For now though, the forecast looks good, real good.
