The Gift of the Moment
The Gift of the Moment
At this year’s holiday get-together, my family decided to bake cookies and have a Christmas murder mystery party. Everyone slipped easily into the spirit of the game, and the results were a delight. Scripts in hand and costumes donned, seated at the table were Ralphie Ryder, Mac Skellington and the Sugar Plum Fairy, Cindy Lou Woo and Captain Nutcracker, the Grunch and Grunchess, Kel McCannister, and Rue-Dolph.
Rumors, insinuations, and accusations flew. Ralphie didn’t care if the Sugar Plum Fairy was innocent—he was intent on taking her down in a smear campaign—and Cindy Lou Woo found Captain Nutcracker’s detachable beard to be a multi-functional accessory. I tried to pin the murder on my dad (aka “The Grunch”) but it turns out it was my mom, aka the “The Grunchess,” who offed Scrooge (she had her reasons). My dad knew better, and was particularly offended I thought it was him. “I haven’t cry-laughed like that in a long time,” my sister said. I may have purchased the game, but none of us could have bought the result, which came simply from spending time together.
Giving has popped up a fair bit in my reading lately. In The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer highlights the honor of giving, the beauty and hope of the reciprocal gift economy, and the restraint of the Honorable Harvest. I know I will often turn back to this book to remind myself that we can see our world in a different light and work for that vision. In Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year, Beth Kempton emphasizes understanding our values and priorities to create a happy holiday. And just this morning I read a story from Sweet and Sour Pie, in which Dave Crehore talks about what his father gave up in order to give him a gift.
In all these books, it seems to come down to love. Loving the world we’re in, and loving the people—those we know already as well as complete strangers who, once we take a chance to chat, aren’t so different from us after all. Gratitude for that world and those people. Giving of ourselves because we’re grateful, and because we care, and because it connects us. When we’re connected, we cry-laugh, and we savor the moment.
What did you find inspiring in The Serviceberry?
A bookmark concept that’s waited since last NYE. Maybe someday.
Appreciating 2024
In a recent issue of ‘The Morning,’ the New York Times daily email, Melissa Kirsch gathered “your favorite things” in a look back on 2024. Those things ranged from songs and compliments to chairs and road rage cures. This made a fun conversation topic during the weekend with my family, so I’d like to ask you too: what were your favorite things from 2024?
Attempting real life watercolor in Santa Fe
My favorite things of 2024: That murder mystery party. The reassurance of snow. Our cat liking belly rubs now. Chatting in the newsletter comments and other spaces with you. The Fall Guy date night at Flix Brewhouse. My sister’s wedding. Visiting New Mexico with my other sister and her boyfriend and Lucas. My first ever hot air balloon ride. Journaling again and having a new appreciation for poetry thanks to Beth Kempton’s work. Visiting a beer sauna with Lucas. Restructuring our backyard with native plants and raised beds. Phone/video calls with family. Long walks and coffee with friends. Another Flix date night: The Wild Robot. A new writing group. Eating the vegetables we grew. Watching onsen tours and train travel videos on youtube with Lucas. All the books I had the pleasure of reading, including the standouts Water, Wood, and Wild Things by Hannah Kirschner and The Birth of Korean Cool by Euny Hong. Most of the Kdramas I watched, but especially Queen of Tears, Castaway Diva, and Mr. Plankton.
A holiday card concept from last year that I never felt great about, but I enjoy remembering the inspiration—a squirrel I saw digging through the snow, who then looked up with a little snow pile on her nose!
Peeking into 2025
2025 feels like an art-themed year. As I write, Lucas is drawing the cat in his new pixel art app. I spent the drive back from Iowa thinking about how I could doodle some cartoons to remember our murder mystery party, as well as a few other art projects for the coming year. And our reading’s been trending that way:
Just finished
All the Beauty in the World, Patrick Bringley’s memoir about losing his brother and becoming a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
In progress
Lucas is reading The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
In the queue
The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt
In The Plan: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius, another book I enjoyed in 2024, Kendra Adachi talks about life having seasons, and how to be realistic about what you can do with that season. With Lucas’s workload and my novel-in-progress (not to mention all the books I’m planning to read), our art won’t be headed to galleries anytime soon. But what matters is that we enjoy spending our time this way—learning something new and creating in ways that matter to us.
How will you enjoy your time in 2025?
January’s Book
January is one of the months we are least likely to take a walk in the Midwest, but that’s all the more reason to live vicariously through Robert MacFarlane as we read The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot. I’m hoping it will inspire me to get outside more despite the short days and cold temperatures.
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!
