Celebrations of Light and Hope

It has become tradition that on Dec 21 I repost this entry from my first year of blogging. It originally appeared on my AOL Journal in 2004. This is the sixth year that I have 'reprinted' it. It still says what I want to remember about this time of year, so I am repeating it again this year. Some of the circumstances have changed... G and I are now married, we lost our beloved D.K., but have opened our hearts to a new kitty this year who is making her ‘big sister’ Morgan’s life interesting, we’ve changed jobs and homes a time or two…. still, although it will be 3 days before Christmas this year due to work and other obligations, we will be making our annual trek to spend a day with my brother and his family. Things change and yet some things remain the same. I hope you enjoy my annual Celebration of Light and Hope.


Today is the shortest day of the year... and the longest night. It is the first day of Winter. It is the celebration of Yule. It is an acknowledgement of Hope. That Light and Warmth and other good things will always return after the darkness. It is the day that G. and I celebrate as our personal Winter Holiday. In ancient times, this was the festival of the rebirth of the new god and a promise that after today the days would get longer, the nights would get shorter, and warmth and Spring WOULD come.

Yes, secularly we, like so many others, celebrate Christmas. In the United States, Christmas is no longer just a religious holiday. With the gift giving, and Santa, and the decorations... Christmas has become more, and less, than what was originally intended. Everyone takes the pieces and parts of the holiday that works for them. Some embrace the religious parts, and try to ignore how secular it has become... others embrace the secular with it's parties, lights, Santa, and presents and ignore any religious beginnings of the holiday. But, at it's heart, it is still a Winter Holiday.. A celebration of Hope. And every religion/belief system seems to have a celebration of some type that embraces this.

I grew up in the States, and therefore my memories of a Winter Holiday include all of the above. And Christmas itself is as much a melting pot as the United States itself. The Christmas tree is German, and Santa is the culmination of a blend of traditions from many countries. Mistletoe? Druid. Christmas Cards? England. You see what I mean. G. and I will be celebrating with my brother and his family on Christmas Eve at his house. That's the day we all have off together. Christmas Day G. is working so a co-worker can be home with his small children for the all important Santa Claus ritual <g>.

I think what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter who you are, or what your core beliefs are... There is a place in the Winter Holidays for all. But, please, take a moment this season, whether you celebrate Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Yule, or Christmas, to remember that the REAL reason for all of these celebrations is to celebrate HOPE in all of its forms.


graphics by useless graphics

Tags: Christmas, Celebrations of Light &Hope, Yule

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait...

 

 

It has been a little over 2 years since I lost my D.K. That's a picture of her at the top of this post. She went over the Rainbow Bridge in April of 2007. I still miss her.

D.K. was a beautiful black and white tuxedo cat. I had her for 13 wonderful years. My husband offered to get me a kitten not long after we lost her to cancer, and I would go and look, but I just wasn't ready. Finally this spring I thought I would like to again hear the pitter of little cat feet in the house. I did mention to the Hubs that I thought we should get a cat that did not remind me of D.K., and because of that I was sure I wanted to get a kitty that was any color but black. Maybe a pretty gray with black stripes? Or a Russian Blue?

What is that saying about making plans and the universe will laugh at you? Yeah.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw an entry on a blog I follow. A cute little Wordful Wednesday, Kitten Edition at Putting the Fun in DysFUNctional. I thought the kitties were really cute, and showed them to the Hubs, and even commented about how cute they were in the comments on the post. It put the thought of kitties in the forefront of my mind again.

Enter Serendipity. About a week after the first kitty post, I saw a different entry on the same blog. She mentioned that she was taking the kitties to be fixed so that they could go to an adoption event on the upcoming Saturday. For some reason I had been under the impression that she and her family lived farther south from us. When I saw where the kittens had been taken to, I asked in comments which place they would be going to for the adoption event, still not sure that I was right about how close they were. Turned out that the place the kitties would be at was the Petsmart that I visit frequently.

The next day I went to the Petsmart just to 'look' at the kitties. The one we thought we were interested in was the white one with black spots, and I still wasn't sure. But instead, once I was there, I couldn't resist the little black and white Tuxedo girl. I thought the hubs would bust a gut laughing at me. Not only did I end up with another black cat, but a Tuxedo to boot. Still, I think D.K. would be pleased since she too was an adopted stray.

If I had any doubts about my decision they were quickly put to rest when I arrived home. I sat the little darling down in the middle of the floor, and she was immediately at home with us and Morgan (our Corgi). She settled in and it was like she has always been with us.

The picture below was taken about 3 hours after we got her home.

 

 

Her foster mommy did a wonderful job with her. She has absolutely no fear of anything, loves people, and is so very confident of the world and her place in it. (i.e. she is a princess!).

I spent some time searching for a name, and we finally settled on Nyx. It fits her perfectly. She is so mischievous, and keeps us laughing constantly at her antics. I think when I was looking at all of those other kitties, I was just waiting for her to come along. We already adore her, and are looking forward to many years of laughing, loving, and fun with her and Morgan.

 

Feline Friday

The quality of the photo/crop job this week is a little weak.... my computer is giving me fits. I am completely unable to use my Photoshop Elements software. I dug out my Paint Shop Pro7 program and am at least able to crop my photos and reduce the file size to something that is web friendly {sigh} I sincerely hope that Best Buy is having a slow repair day tomorrow so I can take this thing in and have them test it. I am crossing my fingers that it isn't my motherboard, but this computer is almost 4 years old now, so it is possible {bigger sigh}.

This photo is a little washed out because I had the front door open and could only get one angle on  the shot, and it wasn't the best angle! However, DK looks like she is enjoying the sunshine regardless of the havoc it was wreaking on my photo endeavors....

Want to play along? Take a picture of your cat, put it on your blog, and pop over to (sometimes)Photoblog and drop off the link!