I hope you had a Merry Christmas. We did; only slightly marred by Matthew and Lucy feeling poorly. It was a warm family time punctuated by much laughter and those special moments. I don't know if it's my age but I have been so aware recently of the fleetingness of life that when I experienced what I call 'my perfect moments', I fully embraced them - letting the present moment enfold me and soaking up the joy knowing that I will unpack the memory when I need it in future.
My first moment was my usual one...at 3pm on Christmas Eve in my kitchen awaiting the family's arrival and listening to the heavenly voice of the chorister singing those first few bars of Once In Royal David's City on Radio 4. It's when my Christmas really begins and with damp eyes I send up a little prayer of thanks.
I think my favourite happened 2 hours later whilst standing in church between my husband and my mother singing carols. A few years ago there was a time when I thought that I would never do that again as my mother was seriously ill and it was made all the more poignant as a dear friend has recently lost her mother.
But the unusual happened too - during the marathon of dish washing I saw a tiny dog trot down our path. We caught it and little Pepe then spent the afternoon sitting on Poppa's knee whilst we tried to contact it's owners. After 3 hours he was claimed but it was slightly surreal at the time and I was beginning to wonder if we were suddenly going to have a dog for Christmas.
Have you also noticed that my indoor photographs are not blurry? That's because Anth bought me a tripod, yay! I also got some lovely books, GHD hair straighteners (for all the Goble girls and wow they are good) GreenGate tins and the absolutely gorgeous Miss Matty who I will introduce to you tomorrow (or the next day!)
Hope your day was just as you wished it...without runaway, tiny dogs!
