Archive for November, 2007
links for 2007-11-27
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007a holiday experiment - Advent 2007
Monday, November 26th, 2007While I was home for Thanksgiving (it was Pittsburgh’s turn for Thanksgiving this year), some stuff happened that got me thinking about the idea of traditions, and holiday traditions in particular.
Most of us grow up with a more-or-less standard set of holiday traditions in our families. They evolve a bit, but one holiday looks like the next, and that’s part of what makes the holiday memories special. Special food, gatherings of all the relatives, particularly beloved decorations, music, etc.
But then comes a time when you notice how much your traditions have changed. A couple of years ago, while discussing holiday plans with my mom and trying to figure out some challenging logistics, my mom said to me, “You know, you’re entitled to have your OWN traditions.” And all I could think was, “but I like the ones I have… why do I want new ones?” This Thanksgiving, I figured out what she meant, from a confluence of events.
First was the part where I stood at the door at Grandma’s, holding it open for my parents, and realized that I was hanging out near the door after they came in because the part of my brain that looks for people on holidays hadn’t figured out that my brother has moved to Wyoming and wouldn’t be joining us this year. (It’s stuff like that which reminds me of why we use the word “miss” to describe how we feel when our loved ones are away- it’s very much like standing near the door and wondering when they’re going to come in.)
Then there was the part where my Grandma got sick- she spent Thanksgiving with a fever and pain in her knees so severe she couldn’t walk, no doubt aggravated by being on her feet all day, working on the feast (the meal that we just HAD to have as a group because the grandkids protested that going out wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving). She went to the hospital that evening- fortunately, she started feeling better quickly and will probably be home soon if she’s not already. But as I handed her some Tylenol and a glass of water on Thanksgiving, I suddenly realized… all those times she has exclaimed, “I’m getting old!” when I thought she was just engaging in a little grandmotherly melodrama… this was the first time my grandmother actually seemed “old” to me.
And there are other things that feed into this too. There’s the fact that I’m married now, and have a whole new set of traditions to incorporate into my own, traditions that are lovely, but look nothing at all like what I’m used to. And my mom is watching her cholesterol and my dad and grandma are diabetic, so holiday food has changed- there used to be more cookies than a small army could eat.
So I’m finding that holidays are becoming less and less recognizable to me anyway. Don’t misunderstand- none of this is BAD; I understand that all of these things are really just trappings for what’s really important about holidays- counting your blessings, enjoying your family, celebrating one’s faith. I can be just as thankful over a plate of turkey in a restaurant as I can in my grandmother’s house. But nonetheless, having holiday traditions in this state of flux has left me feeling a little bit adrift from the season, and it’s my favorite time of year.
So I’m going to embark on a little experiment this year, that I hope you all will join me for. I’ve found in recent years that even a casual observance of Advent, the weeks leading up to Christmas on the church calendar, have given me a sense of focus and joy leading up to Christmas, even as I sometimes feel like it’s sneaking up on me. So I’m going to observe Advent this year, right here on my blog, one post per day, trying to align them more or less with the Advent themes of Waiting, Preparation, Rejoicing, and Hope. (We’ll see how I do with that last part.)
Because the religious celebration of Christmas has always been an important part of the holiday for me, some of these posts will indeed be specifically religious in nature. A lot of them, however, are also going to be examination of What Makes Christmas For Tiff, everything from the Eat’n'Park Christmas Star commercial to music to Nativity sets on the shelf. I hope, then, that this little experiment will be enjoyable for those of my friends and readers who do not share my faith. And I hope that you’ll join in- chime in on the comments for each entry with your favorite traditions and reflections on this time of year, or post them to your own blog and drop us a link.
Advent starts Sunday, December 2. Celebrate with me.
links for 2007-11-20
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007-
Interesting not because it’s Yet Another eBook Reader, but because of the thought that goes into replicating what’s good about books. FINALLY someone pays attention.
links for 2007-11-17
Saturday, November 17th, 2007links for 2007-11-15
Thursday, November 15th, 2007-
Concept art for the upcoming Dresden comic books. Squee!
links for 2007-11-12
Monday, November 12th, 2007-
not that I agree with EVERYTHING he says, but this is an excellent primer on living with a nerd.
breakfast at my house.
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007So, my birthday is Saturday. come for breakfast! you know you want to!
Nerds in love
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
When Tom and I updated our Macs to Leopard, we decided it was time to get on the ball with regular backups now that Time Machine makes it so easy. So we ordered a couple of backup drives and set them up, complete with surge protection, on an end table in our living room. Of course, we have to be able to tell them apart.
Behold, our “his and hers” matching backup drives. I’m a little embarrassed to admit how excited I got about this.
links for 2007-11-06
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007-
it’s not a crackup, but young Christians are no longer equating Republican politics with godliness. About time. I was starting to fear I was the only one.
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I’d probably save myself a lot of time by just making Smitten Kitchen my official online cookbook.