12.14.19

Christopher Robin and I walked along
Under branches lit up by the moon.
Posing our questions to owl and eeyore
As our days disappeared all too soon.
But I’ve wandered much further today than I should
And I can’t seeem to find my way back to the wood.
So, help me if you can I’ve got to get
Back to the house at Pooh corner by one.
You’d be surprised there’s so much to be done,
Count all the bees in the hive,
Chase all the clouds from the sky.
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh.
Winnie the Pooh doesn’t know what to do,

We got home from the Puget Sound Thursday, in time for me to settle myself back in with a walk on the river trail in 45 degree temperatures.  Oh it was good to be back.  Whidbey Island is one of my soul-places, but that didn’t keep me from getting a lump in my throat when we drove away in the morning dark last Saturday as “The House at Pooh Corner” song played on the The Children’s Corner program of our public radio station.  I thought, oh no, I can’t leave–‘I must count all the bees in the hive and chase all the clouds from the sky.’  But, as is usually the case, a long quiet drive over hill and dale gives my heart a chance to  catch up, and in just 8.25 hours, we were on the ferry and I rolled down the window to smell sea air in blue twilight, and all was right in my little world.

It was lovely to be on the island at Christmas time.  We stayed at an inn on the water, next to a long pier, which was lined with colored fairy lights that twinkled in the water.  We had a wonderful hike on Ebey’s Landing with a quiet sea down below us, and in the evening, ‘under branches lit up by the moon,’ I saw the last full moon of this decade.  The decade is coming to an end, and all certainly does not feel right in this world.  We’re running out of time to save the planet we are destroying.  There is unrest and upheaval across the globe, hatred of others in unashamed full view.  And, in these last days leading up to Christmas, who cannot flinch with sadness, remembering Sandy Hook seven years ago today.   I suppose past generations experienced the same anxiety when each decade came to a close–after all, we only get so many of them in our short lifetimes.  Maybe this is just the nature of things.

The Earth&Sky blog describes the Long Night Moon as “a wonderful nocturnal sun, giving us a much appreciated reprieve in the season of diminished daylight.”  Back home, the remains of the full moon have made it bright out my window, all through the long cold night.  Lying awake in the stillness, unable to sleep, I know I need focus on the light and not the darkness.  December, by design, is meant to cheer us up as we move to the end of the year.  December (n):  a month of lights, snow and feasts; time to make amends and tie loose ends; finish off what you started and hope your wishes come true.”  We decorated the outdoor trees today, and I added the Santas to the mantle and table tops.  Just one week from today is the Winter Solstice, and the light will slowly return, and a few days later, all of my Billings family will pile into this house, at my own Pooh Corner, as we celebrate Christmas with one another.  I feel blessed to finish this decade with love and togetherness, and, in that, there is always hope, as the story begins anew.