December Daily 7

One December day, back in 1991, Dh and I were first year music students. We had been chatting in class and getting along well. We were waiting in line for our music theory class, which was less than exciting, and he asked me if I wanted to miss class and go for coffee. He took me to a lovely little German dessert shop and we had coffee and chocolate torte. I wasn't sure whether this was a date or just friends going for coffee but after a few more dates, including a lunch at Swiss Chalet and a kiss under mistletoe, I knew that this meant something. The rest is history.

We always consider early December to be a kind of anniversary. The official date is December 2nd and we always try to get in a meal at Swiss Chalet (for my American friends, it's a Canadian chicken franchise that offers good, basic rotisserie chicken and is really geared to families - our minister jokingly calls it "Christian chicken" since so many Christians go to Swiss Chalet after church on a Sunday).

Today, we had our Swiss Chalet meal and in a way, today was kind of a celebration of what our life has become. We started the day with a leisurely breakfast and then we strapped Baby Bean into the jogging stroller and we took the dogs for a walk in the light snow in the field. That was followed by our small town parade. It was hokey and kind of pathetic but also quite wonderful in its simplicity. There were three churches, the fire department, a few politicians and all the boy scouts, guides, cubs, the legion and the masons. It was fun to see our neighbours and celebrate where we live. We went to run some errands and then we had a family nap (well, actually, Dh slept on the couch and Pk slept in our bed, while Baby Bean refused to nap so he and I played in the living room). After that, we went to an open house with friends the next town over. They are such nice people and their friends are all wonderful, warm and friendly people, too. I am not a big "party" person, I tend to be too shy, but this was a very family-friendly gathering and we all had a wonderful time. We finished up by going to get a Swiss Chalet meal - it's much more chaotic these days than it was that first time we went together but the chaos is filled with love and companionship and shared values.

I felt very richly blessed today.