Dr. Seuss, Dad and this Blog

The post-Christmas lull has got to be one of my favorite times of the year.  For the 2nd day in a row, I woke up with nothing to do!  (Well, nothing I really HAVE to do.)  While one of our girls was bemoaning the boredom of a day with no plans and road conditions that kept us from venturing out of the house, I jumped into lecture mode.  "Being bored is one of the greatest luxuries on earth.  It is a gift from God."  I can turn anything into an annoying teaching moment.  It's a gift, really!  This lull also comes with an element of melancholy as it gives time for memories and thoughts that are painful to consider.  In one sense, being extremely busy is also gift in that you don't have time to rehearse loss and sadness in your life.  I was surprised to find the Christmas holiday far more painful than Thanksgiving.  Our activities, surroundings and company were nothing but enjoyable.  To look at our pictures and abundant blessings surrounding us, you would think everything was peachy and perfect,  but looks are deceiving.  There was a deep ache in my gut (still is) as everything seemed to remind me of Dad.  Even today, we are left with delicious Honey Baked Ham leftovers.  Yet, my thoughts return to Christmas two years ago when I awoke on the 26th to a "Green Eggs and Ham breakfast" prepared by Dad and the girls.  The table was topped with the Dr. Seuss book, eggs colored with green food coloring and our ham leftovers.  Who does that?  As Kelly dove into her Santa gifts, I longed for Dad to engage in a Nerf Gun War similar to the "World War 3-Water-Gun-Battles" that he is known for during summers in Colorado.  He brought a strange delight and fun to the simplest of things.  Several years ago, when Barbies were the gift of choice, they were known to hang from the light fixtures and to walk in line across the mantle.  Growing up, I thought these things were normal, but as I remember him in almost a dream-like fashion, I realize the blessing it was being raised by someone who was anything but "normal".    As we approach 2013, I wonder about the future of this blog.  It was created to connect and keep in touch with family and friends during my time in Africa.  It has provided an outlet to process unexpected loss and to make sense out of a year that changed me profoundly.  Honestly, I've always thought blogs were a little self-centered and once said that I would NEVER write one myself.  (Now, we can put that comment in the collection of things I didn't have a clue about, including---I would never go into ministry or teach kindergarten or live in Texas!)  Still, part of me hopes that life over the next year will bring uneventful routine with little reason to continue writing.    Either way, thank you for sharing this season of blogging with me and especially for remembering us in your prayers through it all.   I wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!