Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The quiet before

I love the stillness that finally comes on Christmas Eve and I'm up way past midnight enjoying the quiet of my living room lit only by the tree and the soft sounds the bunnies make in the dark as they nibble hay in the next room.

I had to work today for the first time in many years and wasn't very happy about it, really. Christmas Eve feels to me like the most solemn of days, yet I think being at work today let me see how the people I work with and the agency I work for can really shine in the lives of people in need. All week there's been bundles of donated clothes and toys hauled out to god-knows-where and the quiet phone calls we social workers sometimes make to appeal directlty to charities on behalf of the families we work with so there'll be toys or breakfast or heat on Christmas morning.

I was off early enough to enjoy some last-minute shopping, final touches to the tree - these sweet, glittery fabric butterflies that are wired to the branches - and the chance to visit with a couple friends and neighbors in the midst of their own Christmas Eve craziness.

The quiet now is complete until morning when another sort of craziness starts. I anticipate that, not nearly as much as I did when I was a child, but I still do. The stillness now is wonderful, though. I hope you find a moment of it yourself.

8 comments:

bobbie said...

Your tree is lovely, Laura. I hope you find nothing but joy and peace this Christmas day.

Love, Bobbie

Jayne said...

My quiet is right now. Soft Christmas tunes on iTunes.... in the dark... reading my very favorite blogs. Have a beautiful day Laura.

Sekhar said...

Nice to hear that you are enjoyimg your Christmas Eve. May God Bless you & your Family & Wish You A Very Happy & Merry Christmas.

Anonymous said...

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases. love, Liza

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas.

It is lunchtime on Christmas day, and quiet has finally settled over our house.

After visits from many local family members yesterday, followed by church service and dinner, and then the overnite stay of my parents (so they can see the kids open their presents), and then the frenzy of the morning with wrapper and boxes and tissue paper flying everywhere, I finally got to sit with the paper and read/nap in the sun.

Joy and health to you and your husband and family of pets,

Heather
Wayne, PA

Larry said...

I have to work on holidays at times so I know the feeling.-Very Pretty Tree-It feels good to help with charities this time of year.-I helped out with a Turkey drive around Thanksgiving and felt good that I was able to play a small part in helping others.-It's nice that you've been able to hold on to some of that Christmas magic that you had as a child. I still feel it too-maybe not as much as I used to- but it's still there.

The Bunns said...

That dumb barker Boomer, the long-haired Chihuahua who visited us for Christmas Eve is gone so now we have LOTS of still!!!!

It's great! When we want noise we will make it!

Mary said...

It's the best time. And, yes, I did.

Hope you had a wonderful day.