Dec 31, 2022·edited Dec 31, 2022Liked by Holly Rabalais
I loved this post, Holly - what a wonderful Christmas! I loved hearing all about Aeroplane - so great that you enjoyed sharing each other's company. Brilliant stuff!
I don't make NY resolutions any more because I found them a burden, and the usual outcome would be that I would use my failure at them as a means to crush myself. These days my day-to-day journalling practice takes care of my goals and intentions, and over the last four years I've achieved way more each year by that all-the-time approach than I ever did by setting great store by a load of 'ought tos' slap bang at the start of every January!
We had a wonderful Christmas - our first together as our family of six since 2019, and the first at my parents' family home since 2016. I'm going to be spending more time with family in the year to come, because they're just so flipping BRILLIANT.
A wonderful post, Holly. THANK YOU for your writing. Here's to a very, very happy new year! 😊
Loved this post, especially the part about your friend, Aeroplane. Sometimes, all we need is to be around people who care so I would say you all did give him one of the greatest gifts ever. Glad he finally made it to church with you. Maybe it's a sign of things to come?
I've been on vacation since the 21st and haven't been doing much except relaxing and trying to get back into writing and journaling with a sprinkling of catching up with some movies and a few books I've been meaning to get back into.
I don't do resolutions, but I do set goals. I did a respectable job of attaining last years but want to do better this year. I will let you know if I make it, next year :)
Happy holidays if busy ones for you, glad Areoplane hung out with you, confirmation that your life makes a difference in others. Thoughtful reflection on Ebenezer,
Posted near my work area your comments-
Life I want to live
Person I want to become - this was specific to growth - being and becoming are two separate verbs!
How I want to spend my resources- or stewardship opportunities- time, money, emotions, talent?
And lastly - George- I love his writing craft lessons in “office hours”, but not a fan of his books. My son is tho- he asked me the sane question- “You write and read cozy mysteries-it doesn’t seem like his short stories would appeal to you.” I sent him George’s response to his confused reader, he understood.
So glad to meet another fan with the sane issue!
Long comment but such a great holiday post - I needed to unpack it and thank you for each gift
Dec 31, 2022·edited Dec 31, 2022Liked by Holly Rabalais
I worked the 26/27/28th, but had 4-day weekends on either side of those. For the first one, Mother Nature had her own plans, and I mostly stayed home and laid low. Hard to do a lot when there's a blizzard with -40 windchills. Christmas was at my sister in law's, with all of it's attendant chaos- my kind of chaos, I should add. And my mom lives here now, so it was the first time since '03 or '04 that we were together.
For this current stretch, it's been wonderfully warm (by our standards), and filled with "exciting" things like getting new tires for my son's truck, and binge-watching Yellowstone. One of my wife's co-workers is starting a bakery, and brought over a tasting box for us to test. She's quite talented, so "getting in shape" will just have to wait until tomorrow.
Mostly, I've been slowing down to the speed of life, if that makes sense.
Thanks for mentioning a couple of my posts. I loved reading about Aeroplane (did I spell that right?) and that he went to church with you guys. Aside from whatever spiritual teachings he may have heard, on a very spiritual level to be with friends, to be accepted and loved, is to come closer to God.
I love that Aeroplane joined you for Christmas! And that he was sporting a red suit!! How wonderful! And yes, I wish more folks would give gifts on Epiphany (January 6th/the 12th day of Christmas/celebrating when the wise men showed up with gifts - as I'm sure you know) instead of on December 25. Then on Christmas the focus wouldn't be lost on a preoccupation with material things. Also loved seeing the photo of the grandpups. :) Happy New Year, Holly! (And happy 9th day of Christmas!!)
I know I’ve been off the grid since September. I started a new job so life has been crazy, But this post is just the inspiration and encouragement I needed. I especially love the idea of making intentions rather than resolutions. I also agree that the glitz, and commercialism of the American Christmas over-promises and underdelivers. And as a result, we completely lose sight of what Christmas is really about, our savior coming into the world to rescue us. I hope you and your family have a healthy, happy new year.
I'm happy to be one of your paid subscribers. And I'm thankful that your content remains free. 7 may not sound like a lot, but I think of it like this. If there are seven people who value your writing, there can be 15. If there are 15, there can be 100. The possibilities are endless. I loved this post, as always. And I have no resolutions any longer because I don't limit myself to making changes at the New Year. Every day is an important opportunity to make a difference. Oh, and I'd love to receive a surprise letter! I'll send along my address.
I'm with you on intentions, Holly. Not big on resolutions either. I find it so much more effective! I've been water rowing for about a year now. I didn't make it a resolution for it but an intention to increase physical activity. I've stuck to it since then! Happy New Year to you and your family!!
It was only my Mom and me for Christmas. I emailed you before Christmas but I don't know if you got my message or not, bringing you up to date on things. I was off work on the 24th, 25th, 27th and Jan 1.
You know how you said if you have to cry, cry. I was trying to tell my Mom about Aeroplane in your story and I didn't make it through. It took me forever just to tell her what he had said. I had to stop several times because I was getting teary-eyed. I thought it was so touching what he said to you at the end. And with everything going on with us, it just hit me.
Let's hope for a better 2023 and more opportunities!
I have spent that space in between chilling out with my 16, soon to be 17 year old while she has been on Christmas break. Allowing myself to sit on the couch and watch Prank Encounters and Triviaverse. Just allowing myself to be light and lazy. In the morning, I still try to get a little writing or editing in or I feel like failure. (Ha!) No resolutions but some decisions.
Holly, what a beautiful way to close out the Old Year (reading your Release and Gather words of life, love, wisdom, recommendations, and all things inspiring). Thank you for the "Spaghetti Shout Out"! Your generous spirit and actions are heart-filling. Then, my heart fell a bit as I asked myself, "Where are you behaving generously and filling the hearts of others with hope and joy?" I think I have been so focused on my own Healing Path (and my daughter's) that I have neglected to make my circle of "Care" larger. And so, "More Caring I Say". Thank you and may this year bring continued strength and joy for Jonah. I don't know him and yet I feel sooooo proud of him.
We have one kid in college and one leaving home after this year, and for the first time ever I felt like we’ve outgrown how we usually do Christmas. I’ve already announced that we’re going to do something different next year, I just don’t know what. I’d love it if we could go to Mexico and let the cabana boys keep my margarita glass filled while I read a book on the beach. 😂 We’ll see what shakes out.
We watched The Whale as well and I feel the same way about it (great acting, unsure about the story).
We watched The Fablemans at home and enjoyed it.
We never spend Christmas with extended family, but did our family-of-choice gathering on a Christmas Eve (so many teenagers!). This opened up Christmas Day to be a Pajama Day and we binged the entire third season of Jack Ryan! 😂
Other movies we’ve watched over the last couple weeks:
* Aftersun (good, but sad)
* Fablemans
* The Whale
* The Royal Tenenbaums (the teens discovered Wes Anderson so we’re catching up on old ones)
I love the part about why we needlessly complicate things. So much truth to that. And what a wonderful gift you gave to Aeroplane. Love that name BTW. As for my in-between week, I tried to actually take time off but only partially succeeded...
I loved this post, Holly - what a wonderful Christmas! I loved hearing all about Aeroplane - so great that you enjoyed sharing each other's company. Brilliant stuff!
I don't make NY resolutions any more because I found them a burden, and the usual outcome would be that I would use my failure at them as a means to crush myself. These days my day-to-day journalling practice takes care of my goals and intentions, and over the last four years I've achieved way more each year by that all-the-time approach than I ever did by setting great store by a load of 'ought tos' slap bang at the start of every January!
We had a wonderful Christmas - our first together as our family of six since 2019, and the first at my parents' family home since 2016. I'm going to be spending more time with family in the year to come, because they're just so flipping BRILLIANT.
A wonderful post, Holly. THANK YOU for your writing. Here's to a very, very happy new year! 😊
Loved this post, especially the part about your friend, Aeroplane. Sometimes, all we need is to be around people who care so I would say you all did give him one of the greatest gifts ever. Glad he finally made it to church with you. Maybe it's a sign of things to come?
I've been on vacation since the 21st and haven't been doing much except relaxing and trying to get back into writing and journaling with a sprinkling of catching up with some movies and a few books I've been meaning to get back into.
I don't do resolutions, but I do set goals. I did a respectable job of attaining last years but want to do better this year. I will let you know if I make it, next year :)
I hope you and your family have a great New Year!
Happy holidays if busy ones for you, glad Areoplane hung out with you, confirmation that your life makes a difference in others. Thoughtful reflection on Ebenezer,
Posted near my work area your comments-
Life I want to live
Person I want to become - this was specific to growth - being and becoming are two separate verbs!
How I want to spend my resources- or stewardship opportunities- time, money, emotions, talent?
And lastly - George- I love his writing craft lessons in “office hours”, but not a fan of his books. My son is tho- he asked me the sane question- “You write and read cozy mysteries-it doesn’t seem like his short stories would appeal to you.” I sent him George’s response to his confused reader, he understood.
So glad to meet another fan with the sane issue!
Long comment but such a great holiday post - I needed to unpack it and thank you for each gift
I worked the 26/27/28th, but had 4-day weekends on either side of those. For the first one, Mother Nature had her own plans, and I mostly stayed home and laid low. Hard to do a lot when there's a blizzard with -40 windchills. Christmas was at my sister in law's, with all of it's attendant chaos- my kind of chaos, I should add. And my mom lives here now, so it was the first time since '03 or '04 that we were together.
For this current stretch, it's been wonderfully warm (by our standards), and filled with "exciting" things like getting new tires for my son's truck, and binge-watching Yellowstone. One of my wife's co-workers is starting a bakery, and brought over a tasting box for us to test. She's quite talented, so "getting in shape" will just have to wait until tomorrow.
Mostly, I've been slowing down to the speed of life, if that makes sense.
Thanks for your inspirational writing with messages of hope and resiliency in the face of our daily struggles.
Thanks for mentioning a couple of my posts. I loved reading about Aeroplane (did I spell that right?) and that he went to church with you guys. Aside from whatever spiritual teachings he may have heard, on a very spiritual level to be with friends, to be accepted and loved, is to come closer to God.
I love that Aeroplane joined you for Christmas! And that he was sporting a red suit!! How wonderful! And yes, I wish more folks would give gifts on Epiphany (January 6th/the 12th day of Christmas/celebrating when the wise men showed up with gifts - as I'm sure you know) instead of on December 25. Then on Christmas the focus wouldn't be lost on a preoccupation with material things. Also loved seeing the photo of the grandpups. :) Happy New Year, Holly! (And happy 9th day of Christmas!!)
I know I’ve been off the grid since September. I started a new job so life has been crazy, But this post is just the inspiration and encouragement I needed. I especially love the idea of making intentions rather than resolutions. I also agree that the glitz, and commercialism of the American Christmas over-promises and underdelivers. And as a result, we completely lose sight of what Christmas is really about, our savior coming into the world to rescue us. I hope you and your family have a healthy, happy new year.
Holly,
I'm happy to be one of your paid subscribers. And I'm thankful that your content remains free. 7 may not sound like a lot, but I think of it like this. If there are seven people who value your writing, there can be 15. If there are 15, there can be 100. The possibilities are endless. I loved this post, as always. And I have no resolutions any longer because I don't limit myself to making changes at the New Year. Every day is an important opportunity to make a difference. Oh, and I'd love to receive a surprise letter! I'll send along my address.
Keep writing! 💟
Intentions seem so much better than goals...so much kinder...much more realistic…a bit more optimistic 😁
I'm with you on intentions, Holly. Not big on resolutions either. I find it so much more effective! I've been water rowing for about a year now. I didn't make it a resolution for it but an intention to increase physical activity. I've stuck to it since then! Happy New Year to you and your family!!
It was only my Mom and me for Christmas. I emailed you before Christmas but I don't know if you got my message or not, bringing you up to date on things. I was off work on the 24th, 25th, 27th and Jan 1.
You know how you said if you have to cry, cry. I was trying to tell my Mom about Aeroplane in your story and I didn't make it through. It took me forever just to tell her what he had said. I had to stop several times because I was getting teary-eyed. I thought it was so touching what he said to you at the end. And with everything going on with us, it just hit me.
Let's hope for a better 2023 and more opportunities!
I have spent that space in between chilling out with my 16, soon to be 17 year old while she has been on Christmas break. Allowing myself to sit on the couch and watch Prank Encounters and Triviaverse. Just allowing myself to be light and lazy. In the morning, I still try to get a little writing or editing in or I feel like failure. (Ha!) No resolutions but some decisions.
Holly, what a beautiful way to close out the Old Year (reading your Release and Gather words of life, love, wisdom, recommendations, and all things inspiring). Thank you for the "Spaghetti Shout Out"! Your generous spirit and actions are heart-filling. Then, my heart fell a bit as I asked myself, "Where are you behaving generously and filling the hearts of others with hope and joy?" I think I have been so focused on my own Healing Path (and my daughter's) that I have neglected to make my circle of "Care" larger. And so, "More Caring I Say". Thank you and may this year bring continued strength and joy for Jonah. I don't know him and yet I feel sooooo proud of him.
Thanks for the shoutout, Holly!
We have one kid in college and one leaving home after this year, and for the first time ever I felt like we’ve outgrown how we usually do Christmas. I’ve already announced that we’re going to do something different next year, I just don’t know what. I’d love it if we could go to Mexico and let the cabana boys keep my margarita glass filled while I read a book on the beach. 😂 We’ll see what shakes out.
We watched The Whale as well and I feel the same way about it (great acting, unsure about the story).
We watched The Fablemans at home and enjoyed it.
We never spend Christmas with extended family, but did our family-of-choice gathering on a Christmas Eve (so many teenagers!). This opened up Christmas Day to be a Pajama Day and we binged the entire third season of Jack Ryan! 😂
Other movies we’ve watched over the last couple weeks:
* Aftersun (good, but sad)
* Fablemans
* The Whale
* The Royal Tenenbaums (the teens discovered Wes Anderson so we’re catching up on old ones)
* Portrait of a Lady on Fire (French)
* She Said (so good, watched at home)
* Glass Onion, a Knives Out Mystery (so fun)
Series we’re watching:
*Dead to Me
*The Mosquito Coast
*The Daily Alaska
*Jack Ryan
I love the part about why we needlessly complicate things. So much truth to that. And what a wonderful gift you gave to Aeroplane. Love that name BTW. As for my in-between week, I tried to actually take time off but only partially succeeded...