This too shall pass

What are you experiencing this moment? Is it fatigue, satisfaction, despair, joy…?
This too shall pass.

The last 24 hours have seen a range of emotion in our mountain home not unlike a recent weekly chart of the Dow Jones Average.

Yesterday, it was still above zero (woo hoo) so we set out to find the Meredith family Christmas tree. It was a delightful outing, mostly because I have the most priceless family on earth and we have enormous fun together.

The post-tree hunting celebration included pizza in town and a return home complete with a backward trip down our mountain road in the rental SUV. The episode left us all a bit alarmed and the rear fender on the Toyota Sequoia worse for wear. We managed to make it up our road that time, but last night, Greg and I weren’t quite so lucky. We were rescued by the most amazing man we’re glad to call our friend, Tom Manuel. He has since helped us put the chains on Dad’s former ranch truck, which bites into the mountain road with much greater confidence than the “all weather” (please Hertz, do all your staff work in California!!?) tires on the rental.

Our hero, Tom, watches over the cabin while we’re away, and it always feels as if he watches over us, too. Even though he has close to a hundred properties to manage, he has that unique ability to make each customer feel as if they’re the only concern…even if it’s 9:30 p.m., 10 below zero and his customers are simply trying to leave a Christmas party and get up the hill to home. He’s amazing.

SO…that was yesterday. The first insurance claim Greg has ever had to file, because my husband hasn’t damaged a vehicle in 47 years (I’ve closed the garage door on three vehicles doing more damage than Greg has in his lifetime…at least he has a backward-down-the-mountain story to tell!); the first Christmas tree collected from the forest outside our own backdoor; the first sledding by the kids in sub-zero conditions, which didn’t dampen their enthusiasm at all; the first time I’ve felt so absolutely at home in a new community—thanks to the Christmas gathering held by our friends and neighbors Denny and Sandy; and the first mountainside peril as I thought I was going to slide off a mountain road in the dark never to be heard from again!

Today dawned peaceful and bright. Tom arrived at 8 a.m. to have a cup of coffee and lead us through tire chain management 101.

The rental is parked at the bottom of the incline, where its city-slicker self belongs. The kids went sledding and exploring again today. The sun set and left a trail of peace and serenity I will treasure…because I know, this too shall pass. The peace. The joy. The treasured moments with family. Every moment of this season will pass so quickly my friends. Put down your worries long enough to revel in a favorite song and breathe a breath of peace as you look out your window into the twilight.

I went out on the balcony to turn on our Christmas lights tonight. A young buck was there about 20 feet from me, munching the tufts of grass still protruding from the snow. He was quite intent on dinner and didn’t mind at all that I was watching and sharing the dusk. He knew he needed to make the most of the moment…exposed grass. Snow is coming. This too shall pass.

Throughout the cabin, I have treasures of Christmases past. I would encourage each of you to dust off a memory you treasure. Cherish the moment. Then, return to the present, knowing that whatever it holds for you, this too shall pass.

May the priceless moments of this season dress your heart like garland to shore it up in the days to come and make you all the better vehicle for love and goodness that grows..

0 comments 0 people listening

Sign in

• Comment help
• Get Livefyre

Post comment as

+ Follow conversation Following - Unfollow

Post to

Sort: Newest | Oldest