Daily 5 - Day 114

Today's Daily "5":

1. Safe driving
2. A christmas party that got moved, and was far better than expected because of the move
3. making it to my natural health treatment in spite of the weather
4. Loving the lyrics to this Christmas song that Paul Brandt and his wife Elizabeth wrote a few years back.
5. lighting candles, sipping tea, eating jello, being wrapped in a blanket, wearing freshly washed pjs, and simply enjoying a quiet evening of prayer
6. loving a quote from Mother Teresa about Advent - will blog more about that coming soon
7. a hug from my mom at my treatment this afternoon
8. the fun of pulling together with several ladies on staff to turn a fairly utilitarian boardroom into a space suitable for a staff christmas party, on very short notice, with very limited resources, and creating a space that looked and felt festive.
9. realizing while arriving at the end of a week that has in some ways been quite hard that there is new life slowly forming within me, and that amidst the hardness of the week, I am joyful in deep places
10. I'm thankful for LP/CA who has offered encouragement, the advantage of a perspective separate from my daily life, and whose emails have helped me this week as I've been processing some challenging events of late.
    

Curled up

I am enjoying a quiet Friday evening.

The party for the afternoon was moved to our office, and was perhaps one of the better parties we've had at Christmas (this is the fourth one I've attended, and was, in my opinion, the best.)

The roads were miserable, and the snow is still falling and showing no signs of stopping. However, tonight I was thankful for roads that were simply snowy instead of sheer ice like they were a week ago. I made it in plenty of time to the appointment I needed to be at (in fact, I got out of work earlier enough that I was able to accept a cancellation appointment, and have my appointment an hour earlier!)

I've been at home for a few hours now, and am in a quiet space. Wrapped in a blanket, curled up in my bedroom, with candles and lovely scented things burning all around the room.

I'm eating jello (don't laugh at me - I love jello! I think it's an endearing, child-like, and possibly slightly quirky quality!) and have a large mug of mango rooibos tea cooling to just the right temperature nearby.

I'm taking it slow.

I've been awake off and on since 3 am.

I woke at 3 in a deeply prayerful space, and have been in and out of that place for much of the day since.

So I'm having a quiet night. Prayers and writing. Jello and tea. A hot shower, candles, and freshly washed sheets and pajamas. Caring for me, and letting my heart listen and talk with Jesus.

Nights like these are some of my favorites.

Friday

There's a severe winter storm warning in effect and a glance out my window is rapidly explaining why.

To add to the fun, this afternoon we have a staff Christmas "party" that most of the staff don't particularly want to attend. A "party" that is probably 25 km out of town. Perfect. (At least I've wrangled a ride to and from the office to the party - a coworker will drive me to the party and drop me back at the office and my car.)

And then I get to face the afternoon commute in the bad weather, with the added pressure of knowing that I have an appointment that I absolutely must be at, at the opposite end of the city from our office, by 5:30.

Here's hoping the city crews do a decent job on the roads today, and start now, not three hours from now when they're already a disaster.