Haitian Tragedy

I've had the people of Haiti on my mind a lot over the last couple of days. There is no way to quantify what they are experiencing as anything but tragically devastating. It is on a par with the December 2004 tsunami that struck Thailand, in terms of the scope of the disaster, but at the same time, I wonder if maybe it is worse. I can't help but think of the people separated from loved ones and not knowing whether they are dead or alive. Thoughts of people trapped alive in rubble alongside the decomposing bodies of those who did not survive, in pain, and wondering whether they will be rescued, or knowing that the end of their lives are drawing near, as they feel their life force ebbing away, steal into my thoughts. I think of Haiti and the mournful sadness that swept a nation, in a flash, as they went about a day that started off as any other ordinary day and ended in fear, sorrow, and tragedy, a nightmare from which they cannot awaken. I think about people who struggle to meet basic human needs on a daily basis already, who now must struggle all the harder in the midst of calamity and chaos to try to meet those same needs and more. I think of the collective voices of people crying out to God in their sorrow, all at once, and without ceasing since the earthquake struck. My heart is overwhelmed with sadness for the people of Haiti and my prayers go out to them.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread . . .

The halls are not completely un-decked, and one tree is in a state of being semi-defrocked. There were complications that upheld the completion of the job yesterday. I didn't get back to it today. I did make a nice dinner complete with fresh homemade bread though. I made two loaves: one a glazed crusty french artisan loaf and the other a plain loaf of bread. We finished the artisan loaf; we will have the other tomorrow. I added some ground flax seed to my bread dough to boost the nutritional value. It was good, no complaints - as the devouring of an entire loaf of bread at the dinner meal attests. I also used whole grain egg noodles for the casserole I prepared. That dish was also gobbled up. It's always a good feeling when people compliment the cook by devouring the meal. Happiness.

Un-Decking the Halls

I am working feverishly to get the halls un-decked today. One tree stands dark in the corner of the dining room though the lights and star still remain on the tree. I should have that tree completely put away in a little while. I am still working on defrocking the big tree. I want all of the ornaments off that tree before it gets dark. It's too hard to see some of them hiding within the tree branches, even with all of the lights on, because the normal lighting in that room isn't all that great to begin with, and colored lights (as we have on the tree this year) just don't put out as much illumination as the clear ones do. I am going to have to haul the ladder in to complete that task (ornament removal, or "defrocking") though.

I must confess that I feel a great sense of sorrow in saying goodbye to the Christmas season this year. There were things I had planned on doing and wanted to do that just didn't materialize. It seemed like the whole period of time between mid-November and New Year's just flew past in a blur. I feel some ambivalence as we move into the new year and decade. It is like there is a sense of urgency to savor the moments and seize the day. Carpe diem!