(mist and ice on the tidal Habitant River, near Canning, NS)
I just missed out on being a solstice baby, and came a bit too early for Christmas too...but since today is my Blogger Bloom Day (so to speak), I thought I'd give a gift to others!
It probably won't surprise regular readers that some of my closest friends are other writers. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine from Montreal, Heather Grace Stewart, sent me this wonderful poem she had written. She gave me permission to post it here, and given that this can be a stressful season, I hope you'll all enjoy it and take it to heart (men can tell their inner Super Dads to leave the building, lest you feel neglected). Enjoy!
Holiday Checklist
This Christmas, I am telling
my inner Super Mom to
leave the building.
In the pre-Christmas chaos
I will remember to breathe
while juggling the buying
flying shopping shipping
put-it-on-plastic
happy hoopla
pot luck and good luck
trying to squeeze into
last year’s
little black dress.
Multi-tasking to the point
of burn out will no
longer be my middle name.
I will not apologize
or feel inferior
if the cards are late or
the presents aren’t perfectly
gift-wrapped or
the kids look like
baboons in the family photo.
This Christmas
I won’t trip over my words
when I start to say Merry Christmas
to someone celebrating Hannukah.
Screw political correctness, this year
I will remember what’s truly important:
opening a door for a senior
giving food and clothes to the homeless
teaching the children it’s not all
about that guy in the red suit.
This Christmas
I will put on John and Yoko’s
Happy Christmas (War Is Over)—
And listen.
No. Really, truly listen.
/Another year over
And what have I done?
And so happy Christmas,
for black and for white,
for the yellow and red ones,
Let’s stop all the fight. /
This Christmas
I will be still
between the turkey
and the silly paper hats
between the wine
and the goodnight kisses
I will find my true North star,
make a wish for the world and
count my blessings,
every one.
Heather Grace Stewart
copyright Dec. 2007
--
Heather Grace Stewart
Author; Photojournalist
This is a delightful post. A beautiful image with a great holiday poem. Happy Birthday to you BTW..may your year be filled with light.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely poem. I love coming by to visit. It's like going to see a friend who lives in the woods, in a comfy cozy house where the coffee is always on, and the flowers are always blooming.
ReplyDeleteI'm in withdrawal from my garden, so I had to go out and take pictures of the fresh snow on the trees.
What a wonderful, thoughtful poem....and so true!
ReplyDeleteI wish you a merry Christmas and all the very best for the coming year! Thank you for all the nice comments on my blog and I'm looking forward to reading again your posts here!
Have a wonderful time!
Barbara
Dear Jodi,
ReplyDeleteI dropped by to wish you Happy Christmas!
Seasonal Greetings from Sweden. Hello Jodi, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas & Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful poem; I need to come back and reread it after the holidays when I have more time ;-)
Happy Holidays to one and all
ReplyDeleteIsn't it nice to be out of the mall
Jodi,
a special thanks for stopping by my new "home" and welcoming me.
Have a very Merry Christmas, Jodi!!!! Give all the kitties a kiss and hug for all the kitties here at Rosehaven Cottage.
ReplyDeleteHugs (& purrs),
Cindy (and Brent & the cat-children)
Happy Birthday Mz Jodi. I feel so blessed by you sharing the gift of your poem.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can slow down now and enjoy the rest of the holidays. Merry Chirstmas!
Happy Birthday Jodi! What a lovely poem. Find beauty in the stillness that surrounds you just as you have in your photo! Eat cake for me!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dear Friend!:-) And what a lovely poem. I hope you had a wonderful day, Jodi!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! And thank you for sharing a lovely poem. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
ReplyDelete~Angela :-)
Happy Birthday, Jodi! With a full moon to celebrate this year! Around our house, we agree that Christmas is more about the memories and less about the stuff. Wishing you, your husband, your cat children, Leggo and the donkeyfromMars a wonderful holiday!
ReplyDeleteLove the poem, and I wish each who read it, be blessed. Merry Christmas ~ Heather Grace Stewart. . .
ReplyDeleteA belated happy birthday, Jodi and Merry Christmas as well. That was a great poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting exactly how I felt. ...and how ironic that the ONE Christmas song I could bear to hear this year was "Happy Christmas / War is Over" by John and Yoko?
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a wonderful & stress free holiday!
I guess I'm a little late, but Happy Birthday.
ReplyDeleteThe poem by Heather Grace Stewart is wonderful and perfect. I will send people along to read it.
Thanks for a great blog. Have a fabulous new year.