Grrrr... I mean, Happy Holidays!

I say 'grrrr' because I feel just too busy right now.   No matter what I want to do and plan to do with my days, I can't seem to get half of it done - and I am not slacking, either!  So instead of tensing up and getting grouchy (or grouchier, I should say), I will take a minute here to breathe, and relax, noticing the quarter-inch of snow on the ground here in the wee hours of Christmas Eve, and thinking: of all the happy people here in Oregon who will appreciate a white Christmas; of the (for the first time in many years) deeply snow-covered peaks and the gift the return of the waters means for all life; of all the rivers and creeks that are flowing so swiftly (and wonderfully) here as we enter our third straight week of rain storms; of all the excited kids anticipating Christmas morning; of all the devout Christians preparing to celebrate the birth of their savior Jesus and the promise of hope that his life represents; of my original timeline for this project wherein I thought I would have it at an editor by now (just a little bit off on that one!); of the fact that my 'baby' boy Hoku is going to turn 25 years old in less than 2 days (yup, Christmas baby) and wow, he is a quarter of a century and I am a half a century old... and there you have it, what I thought about in less than two minutes of breathing.  And I am not even caffeinated at the moment!

I have conducted three interviews, to date, and will be getting to transcribing the salient points here soon.  I will also be interviewing my own children for the book.  All of these interviews as well as Part Two of 'Talking with your Children' I intend to complete within the next two weeks.  And then, for those of you following this journey, I want to let you know to expect a very slow upcoming month on the writing front.  I will be traveling away from home for three weeks in January, and will not have regular access to my computer.  I will however be doing some field research and interviewing as many people in person as I can.  It is exciting and a bit unsettling as I definitely am more comfortable being at home.  But here goes.

This being Christmas Eve (12:20 AM - it counts!), and the day before my son's birthday, I am unfortunately NOT going to be able to spend the day writing.  Hence the brief message here, along with my prayers and good wishes for health and happiness to you and your loved ones for the coming year.  May you find whatever makes you the happiest and do more of that!  Blessings on the return of the LIGHT.  Harmony