I love waking up on Christmas Eve day, and experiencing the thrill of anticipation. As a child I looked forward to opening gifts and playing with new toys. Now, I lie in bed and savor the delicious anticipation of opening a new day and letting it unfold as it will. And play, of the creative sort, is still an important and meaningful part of my day.
It has been a full day…full of activities, full of fun, full of preparation, full of joy. Because I still have cooking to do, and it is 10:43 pm, I am sharing the unfolding of my day via photos.
Beginning the day with fresh celery juice, followed by a breakfast smoothie. It has been vital, during this busy season, to continue to take exceptional care of myself. I am excited to be finishing the year strong, healthy and fit.
Banana, peach, pineapple, blueberry smoothie.
After completing grocery and gift shopping today, I worked upstairs gathering up photo albums and boxes of artwork created by my children when they were young. Tomorrow we will enjoy looking through these moments from the past. Above is one of my favorite old family photos, Greg’s great-great grandfather Tuck, in the civil war uniform, and Tuck’s sons Quincy and Roy.
I finished wrapping the last of the gifts.
And after delivering gifts to my younger daughter Adriel and son-in-law Nate, the three of us watched A Christmas Carol. This is a yearly Christmas Eve tradition for Adriel and me. The George C Scott version released in 1984, the year Adriel was born, and we’ve watched it together every year since, with the exception of last year, due to Adriel working Christmas Eve at the hospital. We love this classic story!
Back home, candles were lit to welcome Christmas and send out Light into the mild night.
I am creating in the kitchen, while Christmas songs play on my phone. I succesfully made pomegranate bark tonight. I have several more plant based dishes to prepare for tomorrow’s family gathering and smorgasbord at Adriel and Nate’s house.
Interspersed throughout the day, Christmas messages and texts have flowed in, literally from around the world, warming my heart and amplifying my joy. That tingle of anticipation I awoke with has been the constant undercurrent during my day, as I look forward to spending time with my family tomorrow and sending Christmas greetings to friends and more family.
There is a musical meaning for the word anticipation, that I love. It is the introduction in a composition of part of a chord that is about to follow in full. What a perfect definition for today…Christmas Eve…as I am experiencing in part what I will fully enjoy tomorrow.
Happy Christmas Eve…and happy anticipation.
