We discovered a minor leak inside the Winnebago the day after Thanksgiving. It’s in the spot where the coach and the cab meet and it’s midway down in a corner area. Since we’ve only owned it for a month, even though it’s 12 years old, I was fairly dramatic about it. (“I can’t believe she’s leaking! I hope it’s okay! What if they can’t fix it? What if we’re left with nothing but a pile of rust and mold? Did we buy a lemon?!”) Continue reading “Leaking roofs, leaking eyes, and Christmas annoyances”
Tag: Christmas
Becoming Jewish: the Christmas conundrum
Lately, my conversations with my mom have gone a little like this:
Mom: “I sure would love to come out and visit again.”
Me: “I’d love for you to see western Washington in the fall.”
Mom: “I’d really love to come out and celebrate Christmas with you.”
Me: “No more Christmases for me, remember?”
Mom: *sounds of crying into her iPhone*
OR
Mom: “I saw the cutest thing I wanted to buy you for Christmas, and then I remembered that I couldn’t…”
Me: “Hanukkah starts on Christmas Eve this year, Mom. You can buy gifts if you want.”
Mom: *cheerfully* Okay!
Why I’m hitting the “pause” button on my involvement in Christianity
This post is hard for me to write, but it’s a long time coming.
I’ve spent the last several years on a spiritual journey, and I’ve ended up in a lot of dark corners, dead ends, and places that feel suspiciously like Knockturn Alley (from the Harry Potter universe.) I always enter a new part of my journey hoping with a sincere heart that, this time, I might find the answers I seek. So far, though, I only end up with more questions or, as I’m facing now, total disgust in the journey itself.
I’ve made many posts about my spiritual journey (here, here, here, and here just to select a few) so I’m not going to rehash all of it. To boil where I’ve been so far down to a single sentence, let me just say that I’ve been from one end of Christianity to another and, through all of it, I have continued to try to be a good Christian because that’s what’s expected of me. I’m from the Midwest, where conversations about Jesus flow as frequently as discussions on corn prices and the state of the summer crops. Being a Christian is expected. Asking someone where they go to church is as normal as asking about the weather. However, the reality is that I’ve reached the end of the line now and it’s time to make some changes. To put it simply: I’m out.
Continue reading “Why I’m hitting the “pause” button on my involvement in Christianity”
Merry maudlin Christmas!
Merry Christmas! To anyone that reads this, I hope that your Christmas (if you celebrate it) was beautiful and completely free of stress. As for us, we couldn’t have asked for a more low-key holiday. Honestly, as the sun slips away and darkness arrives once again, I find myself maudlin. Continue reading “Merry maudlin Christmas!”
Recipes of Christmases Past: Nutmeg Logs
I made these today and was instantly whisked back to my childhood. I was full of memories of watching my mother make these for the holidays, the scent filling first the kitchen and then the whole house. The rich smell of the nutmeg was a signal to me that Santa was coming soon!
Christmas trees, musicals, and making a community
I’m taking a break from dinner preparations to get this post up. I’m having a “Transplant to Seattle” Thanksgiving dinner today at my house, and I’m hosting a few of my co-workers and their spouses who also uprooted their lives this year and moved out here to join our team. Being two thousand miles from home means that, if we let ourselves, we can become very insulated out here. With no family and no “community” to speak of, it would be very easy to say that we live here, but do we live here? Continue reading “Christmas trees, musicals, and making a community”
DIY: Christmas tree yo-yo garland
I love fabric yo-yos. I’ve made them for years and I use them to make table covers and decorative throws. I decided to use all my older yo-yos to make a garland for my Christmas tree, and I finally got it done tonight. Continue reading “DIY: Christmas tree yo-yo garland”
An unexpectedly blessed Christmas
I approached the Christmas season with a healthy amount of dread, as I have previously wrote about in this post. I planned on avoiding all family gatherings and had a great excuse because of the hours I was working the fact that I would need any time off to rest. But, as it often happens, things change. Continue reading “An unexpectedly blessed Christmas”
