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Sunday 29 December 2013

What Makes A Perfect Christmas?

It takes beautiful decorations. ~


With last minute decorating client calls to do their homes, mine was nowhere near done.  No blog posts could be written to show the clever ideas I had all worked out in my head.

A white Christmas is wonderful unless storm after storm makes the roads treacherous and shopping for gifts difficult. ~


I didn't see the beauty, just the difficulties that it presented.

A trip to the market to pick up the fresh, organic turkey I ordered brought the news that my order was the only one lost.  Ekes!  I could be mean and give them a hard time about it, but they were obviously terrified to tell me.  I shrugged and asked what alternative they suggested. They offered to give me all the parts of a fresh turkey, unassembled, but that was a bit too Frankenstein for me. Instead, they gave me a frozen, organic turkey for less than the cost of a grocery store bird.  Yay!

Surely, that is the last of the snags and all I have to do is finish sewing a Juliet costume for one granddaughter, clean the house and decorate it. ~



And then, the ice storm hit Ontario! ~


Trees toppled under the weight of the ice and hydro lines came down.  Thousands of homes were without power. ~


My power stayed on, but would the kids be able to make it home for Christmas?  It seemed to be problems and more problems! ~


Then, I realised the problem was me! I couldn't see the beauty of the ice and snow because I was too busy looking for cobwebs and dust.  I didn't have faith that the roads would clear and the travelling would be fine. I was putting all the emphasis on a picture perfect, Hallmark card home and not on the scent wafting from the kitchen and the anticipation of spending the special day with those I loved.

The house began to fill with people.  My nephew and his family were without power for five days and couldn't stay in their frigid house anymore.  They didn't care what decorations hung from the chandelier, just that the house was warm and a turkey was roasting in the oven. ~


Grandkids came through the door with all the excitement of Christmas Eve on their faces.  For Clara Jane, ten kids in the house, throwing toys for her to fetch, was the best part of the day. 

When she needed a nap to recover her energy, two little girls made sure she was petted. ~


Artificial snow from the village was sprinkled all over the floor from kittens and kiddies alike. ~


Everyone was happy! ~


No one seemed to notice what was left undone.  They talked and laughed while the little ones fetched the basket of toys to play and dangled garland beads for kittens to bat.  No one cared that the turkey had been frozen as long as it came golden brown from the oven. Seventeen sat down to a bountiful dinner.

My granddaughter, Serena, said to me, "Grandma, you can never leave this house because IT IS JUST PERFECT!"

I looked around and agreed because it had the best decoration any home could have.~


It was filled, from top to bottom with Joy!

I hope each and every one of you had a perfect Christmas!

 

21 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post Maureen. Grateful.. Happy New Year.
    Joy

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  2. Very sweet post and yes we sure tend to forget what is important, with all the hustle and bustle. I like the little "reminders" you were given. Cathy

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  3. That ice and snow looks so pretty, I'm so glad that in the end you had a joy filled day such a beautiful post.

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  4. Gathering the family and friends no matter the circumstance makes for a wonderful Christmas..
    Your home would be a perfect spot to celebrate as it is so beautifully decorated all the time. Loved your photos of the family. I have friends in the Toronto area too and they all did ok over Christmas through the ice-storm. We had Christmas dinner at our home and all was wonderful. Now it's time to rest....

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  5. What a lovely, perfect Christmas you had! Your house looked great...very homey, warm and inviting...which is what it is! Glad you stopped stressing and started relaxing and enjoying. xo wendy

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  6. Perfect paradigm shift. Merry Christmas, Maureen.

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  7. Maureen, So happy your Christmas was filled with not only family and loved ones, but JOY!!

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  8. Beautiful post, and you know I feel the same.

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  9. You do know how lucky you are! From the breathtaking beauty of the ice storm, (my sister's house was out of power TWICE, over 3 days in total!), to the lovely and warm gathering of family, it was a pleasure to 'sit in' for a few minutes! Thanks for sharing your joyful day!

    Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!

    Poppy

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  10. Thank you for sharing your Christmas celebration with my family. It was great to see the kids reconnecting and having a PICTURE PERFECT CHRISTMAS. Merry Christmas one and all!

    www.etsy.com/shop/2becherished

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  11. how dear is Serena! Merry Christmas, Maureen. Happy New Year.

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  12. Lovely post, Maureen. Glad you were able to find joy :)

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  13. Lovely pictures and a beautifully written post Maureen. Sometimes we just get too busy to see what is really important about this special holiday. It looks like you found that out this year. Family and love ones sharing the JOY.
    Blessings and Happy New Year.
    Hugs,
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

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  14. I think you had a perfect Christmas in your perfect house filled with JOY. Wishing you a blessed new year. Pam

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  15. Maureen, you write the best posts! I loved reading how your Christmas turned out so beautifully!

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  16. Awwwwww! It sounds PERFECT! gave me goosbumps reading about your Christmas...

    Cindy

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  17. and I love it that your were understanding about the Turkey... now THAT's good stuff...

    Cindy

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  18. So true! We've had ice, an auto accident, the flu, need I go on? We're finally (I HOPE) having Christmas with our kids on New Year's Day tomorrow. But it doesn't matter what day...it's all about family...but I thought it was never going to get here after the last delay.

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  19. Awww!!! What a wonderful post! Merry Late Christmas, and Happy New Year!

    xoxo
    -andi

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  20. So perfect.... and certainly when a little one says so then it is so.
    :) Glad to see you were able to receive everyone in your home for a wonderful Christmas celebration.
    Best wishes for the New year.

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  21. It definitely sounds like the perfect Christmas and although you couldn't see it at the time (and obviously a lot of people had a difficult time) the snowy vistas do look beautiful and magical.
    Happy New Year Maureen x

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