christmastime

My Christmas was pretty quiet. The whole holiday season was pretty quiet, actually. It's this time of year where I miss singing in choir the most; I loved participating in concerts and singing Christmas songs. I adore Christmas music. This year I walked around the house telling everyone every other day about my memories of standing behind my mom and she played the piano, and I would belt out every Christmas carol in my children's music book. I knew so many Christmas songs as a child that I amazed even my music teacher during a holiday-edition of "Name that Tune" in elementary school. Some of the songs I knew after only an interval, and his jaw dropped to the floor a few times.

Living at home definitely takes away some of the festive feeling of Christmas. Part of what makes this time of year so special is that people all over the world take time out of their lives to go home and hang out with their family. It is definitely not something I cherish as much when I see them everyday. It seems like it's just another Sunday with the fam, except I get presents and a big meal.

The other thing that makes me sad is that I missed out on so much of the arts scene this season. When I was in Minneapolis I would try to catch the Messiah at the St. Paul Cathedral, or go see the Christmas Carol at the Guthrie (I will never see it anywhere else. The Guthrie's is the best!). Madison has none of that stuff. They had the Nutcracker playing at the Overture center downtown, but the timing was bad and I wouldn't really want to sit through a ballet with a bunch of squirmy kindergartners anyway.

On the moving/job front, I think my future roommate in Maryland may have found us a place to live. It sounds perfect, and has great features, and is within walking distance of work, cafe's, restaurants, and a great shopping market where I can get anything I want (or so I'm told). It really is amazing to see how God is pulling this all together, and it's so clear that I should be going there. It's nice to know what His path is for me, I have been wandering so much that to have direction feels so liberating.