"It's a Christmas Miracle!"

This photo from the post about my mother's nativity scene seemed like the best one to use today.

And I'll keep this post short.

I've had wildly fluctuating blood pressure for decades for some known and also unknown reasons.

This typically prompts great anxiety whenever I walk into a room with a blood pressure cuff.

So you can imagine the anxiety when I am actually getting my blood pressure taken.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my primary for a follow-up on one day and a follow-up with my endocrinologist on the next day.

Both times, to my wonderment and delight, the readings were extremely normal.

My endocrinologist was equally delighted and exclaimed, "It's a Christmas miracle!"

At first glance, such sentiments seem silly and trite.

But they really are not, if you think about it.

My family is still on a several-year chaotic stretch of one emergency after another. We have a lot of turbulence in the background we cannot control, and that turbulence is teaching us (very slowly) how to walk more deeply in faith.

Whether or not you consider the first Christmas story to be fact or fiction, the details are the same.

During an especially volatile time in the world, a savior was born in the midst of it, very quietly, very humbly, and without much fanfare or notice from most people.

If your life today is smooth and without struggles, rejoice! That is a huge blessing indeed. Revel in that while you can.

If your life today is difficult and challenging, also rejoice!

For tucked away in all of that turmoil are little miracles just waiting for you to see them, recognize them, and embrace them.

That is the Christmas miracle waiting for you. 

T'was The Night Before Christmas at Simons Mansion

Below is a clipping from The Munsonville Times that the main character in this BryonySeries novel found on microfilm at the Munsonville Library while conducting research for a school project.

This provides the background for the "The Night Before Christmas" parody below, an "assignment" for WriteOn Joliet in 2013.

Of course, I try to make (almost) any assignment part of the BryonySeries.

DECEMBER 31, 1893: On December 24, Mr. John Simons and Miss Bryony Marseilles were united in Holy Matrimony. The bride looked lovely in a wedding dress Mr. Simons ordered from Paris: an ivory satin, floor-length gown, with a lace veil edged in bryony motifs, and a pair of white kid gloves. A gold locket belonging to the bride’s mother adorned the outfit. “It’s the only jewelry Reverend allows,” said Bertha Parks, parsonage housekeeper.

Immediately before the service’s commencement, Mr. John Simons played the song he wrote for Miss Marseilles, so Reverend Marseilles refused to attend the reception at Simons Mansion.

The reception featured the following menu items: fish balls, fruit fritters, scalloped oysters, giblet soup with veal, chowder, mushroom catsup, roast wild duck with cranberries and peas, boiled pigeons with turkey stuffing, roast goose with mashed potato stuffing and apple sauce, breaded potatoes, boiled cabbage, winter squash, boiled parsnips and carrots, rice and meat pudding, baked plum pudding, French rolls, jelly tarts, minced pie, and eggnog.

Crowning the occasion was a magnificent twelve-tiered wedding cake, light and white, with scrolls of pink and green frosting, to match the bryony at Simons Mansion. The décor featured lace-covered tabletops decorated with mulberry ribbon, bows, holly, mistletoe, and red and pink roses. For the couple’s first dance, a sixteen- piece orchestra played “Bryony.” One guest said, “It was like a fairy tale.”

T'was the Night Before Christmas

(From the perspective of Bryga Czarnecki, chief housekeeper at Simons Mansion)

 

T'was the eve before Christmas, when all through the house

Every creature was stirring, except Bertrand the mouse.

The servants had decorated the third floor with care,

In hopes John and Bryony soon would be there.

 

All tables were covered with woven lace spreads,

With mulberry ribbons bedecking each edge

And mistletoe as garnish with a holly branch wrap,

Red and lavender roses made a centerpiece cap.

 

When down in the kitchen there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the ballroom to see what was the matter.

Away to the staircase I flew like a flash,

Lifting up my full skirts and hanging onto my sash.

 

The trembling hands and heaving breast showed Gladys' woe

As she stared at fallen trays and food objects below

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

A miniature rat and eight spiders crept near

 

With an odd little insect not so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be a walking stick.

More rapid than eagles the roaches they came,

And I whistled, and shouted, and called servants names!

 

"Now Hattie! now, Mildred! now, Nellie, get quickin'!

Cease all your cookin! Stop all your mixin!

Sweep the whole floor! Wipe splashes from walls!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

 

The fragments were gone, every surface wiped dry,

They glanced at each other and heaved a group sigh.

Then up to the house-top the servants they flew,

With platters of food, and the wedding cake, too.

 

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on buffets

The dropping and clattering of those many trays

As I poked in my head, Morton quickly turned 'round,

And the rest of the food came down with no sound.

 

Fish balls, fruit fritters, scalloped oysters, and chowder

Again the excited servants clamor grew louder

Giblet soup with veal, duck with cranberries and peas,

Mushroom catsup; and then I noticed the great Christmas tree

 

The white candles, how they twinkled! the gingerbread how merry!

The candies were like roses, just like the nuts and the berries!

All the servants were hungry, on their faces, it showed;

For the drool on their chins was as white as the snow.

 

They glanced at boiled pigeons with much turkey stuffing

And wondered if leftovers they soon would be cuffing

Breaded potatoes, winter squash, French rolls, and boiled cabbage

Would any minced meat pie be left so to ravage

 

Boiled parsnips and carrots, rice 'n' meat and plum puddings,

My special eggnog, sprinkled with nutmeg; who wouldn't be willin'

But a wink of Mort's eye and a twist of his head,

Told the help leftovers they all would be fed.

 

They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work,

And filled all the tables; not one of them shirked

After pausing a moment to straighten a rose,

Mort gave them a nod; in position they posed!

 

Mildred sprang to her post, to her team gave a whistle,

And away they all dashed like the shot of a missile.

But I heard them exclaim, ‘ere they fled out of sight,

"Good luck to you to all; see you later tonight!"

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from 'Bryony'"

Magi and Christmas Eve

Western Christians celebrate today as "Three Kings" day, Epiphany, or Feast of the Magi.

For our family, it is also the same, as well as the eve before our family's Christmas celebration.

We celebrate both ends of the Christmas season - as well as the seasons before and after it.

Our advent begins on November 15. It is a six-week preparation to welcome our Savior into our mdist.

We celebrate the Christ Child's birth on December 25.

We honor the Magi on January 6/January 7.

And we continue the Christmas season until Febuary 2, the feast day of the Presentation in the Temple, when we finally take down the Christmas tree, for the second time this year.

Side story: our orginal tree, which Rebekah bought on sale with lights attached in 2019, was the first tree we had set up.

One night, while unplugging the tree lights before bed, I couldn't tell in the dim light which cord went to the tree and which one went to the floor lamp in the corner as they had become tangled. 

So, I gently separate the cords - and sparks flew up and out like a Fourth of July sparkler.

Yes, one of my cats had chewed through the lights' thin wires. Here, the kids had thought a couple bulbs simply needed replacing. No, the lights were out because they were shorted out.

So down came the tree.

And up went a more beautiful, more lavish tree, an expense of money and time we hadn't expected.

Of course, as I'm telling this tale, much of the world has, by now, forgotten about Christmas.

So perhaps that makes us a bit out of step.

But, heck, I'm a bit out of step anyway.

And maybe it's my own weakness that needs reminders of God's great gift hanging around a bit longer. Maybe if I had the wisdom of the Magi, I would need less reminders. Maybe, someday, I'll have grown in grace and won't need reminders at all.

Yet, whatever the reason, tonight I will be prepping tomorrow's food with my family and cleaning house, so we can enjoy the day together tomorrow (which is also Rebekah's birthday) without having to cook and clean, too.

We will be a smaller group that in years past, due to COVID and other family members' obligations.

So we must take the celebration to them and deliver their packages and bags.

The main point is not how or when we and you and they celebrate. The point is that we do (and should) celebrate.

Whatever Christmas (or a similar holiday) means to you, if it has meaning, then do celebrate it with as much heart as you can muster.

For many of us are going through challenges, especially these last two years, and celebrations often feel thin and forced. We must revel in celebrations wherever we can find and experience them. For celebrations bring much-needed hope and joy into ouir lives.

But for you who have read to this line, I hope this post makes you smile, if even for a moment, at a remembrance of any Christmas you've enjoyed and bring to mind the loved ones with whom you've shared it.

Whatever values Christmas holds for you, I hope this post encourages you to tuck them into your heart, to live and bear fruit, the whole year long.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"And a little child shall lead them"

My head has an interesting mix of ideas this morning.

It's Christmas Eve, and my two of my adult children are already hard at work (I shall soon join them - maybe - for I might be banned from the kitchen in favor of their bonding) preparing our traditional twelve course, Eastern European Christmas Eve dinner.

In the BryonySeries world, it's the day dedicated to werewolves.

And last night, Timothy did an extremely imaginative photo shoot with Bertrand for his first cookbook that Rebekah put together: she prepared and shot all the recipes and formatted the book. I was the taste-tester.

In fact, Timothy staged, and then took, such an interesting mix of photos that we can use most of them (with a few more) for another Bertrand the Mouse book.

Yes, I am going somewhere with this.

During the editing process of "Bryony," the first book in the BryonySeries, my publicist (back when I had a publicist) complimented me on how "in touch" I was with my inner child.

Last night, Timothy showed off his creative inner child, a child he once thought he'd lose.

During this time of year in our newspaper delivering days, we listened to Christmas music as we delivered, including recordings of my favorite albums growing up.

One of them included this version of this song. 

Except we rarely listened to it because it made Timothy sad. I shared a memory of my thoughts when I was eight and trying to picture what that meant.

Fortunately, it didn't come true for any of us; the borders are still there, and we can go in and out whenever we wish. And it showed last night.

So Christmas Eve, BryonySeries werewolf day, Bertrand the Mouse, childhood and childlike attitude - all of these made me think of this verse: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...and a little child shall lead them." Isaiah 1:6

However you worship and wherever you are in your faith journey and approach to life, may you always retain a sense of wonder, awe, and good-old fashioned playfulness.

Now, here is a sampling of Bertrand's culinary adventure. For who else to lead Bertrand through the experience than a professional chef?

Throwback Tuesday: Five Minutes on Christmas Eve

I wrote this post a decade ago and posted it on Christmas Day 2010 and thought you might like to read it today.

Many of us (my family and I included) won't be celebrating Christmas this year the way we've celebrated it in this past.

But that doesn't mean the celebration won't have equal (or greater) value than celebrations in years past.

This particular Christmas Eve a decade ago was rather bleak. And then I did something that changed the bleakness and made this particular night one of my most favorite memories.

May this post help inspire you to stretch your creativity and make this holiday season the best so far.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Five Minutes on Christmas Eve

As I'm writing this, I get a phone call from my nearly seventeen year old daughter Rebekah. She and her fifteen year old brother Daniel and my husband Ron are done rolling newspapers and are heading home. Communion bread for this morning's Divine Liturgy is rising in the oven, and soon I'll be out in the van throwing newspapers.

This is not how we used to spend our Christmases.

Years ago, when my six children were very young, Christmas Eve meant getting together with my first husband's side of the family and enjoying a special Christmas Eve dinner of twelve traditional dishes, that represented the twelve apostles. We continued that tradition up until this year when the timing of Christmas as per the newspaper schedule and everyone's work commitments made such a gathering impossible.

Then the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder as I was getting ready for bed last night, at the ungodly hour of seven o'clock (It's ungodly when you rise at midnight). I hollered down the stairs for Daniel, but he had left with my oldest son Christopher to pick up my daughter-in-law Cassie from work. So, I phoned my twenty-year-old son Timothy, who was still stuffing Sunday inserts for their customers with Rebekah.

After making sure they were near each other, I asked Timothy to put me on speaker phone. He did, and I read from the Gospel of Luke, beginning with Gabriel's appearance to Mary and ending with the shepherds. When I finished, there was a chorus of excited voices. My kids were not alone in the warehouse.

A number of other carriers were spending their Christmas Eve there, too, preparing for Sunday so they could spend Christmas Day with their families and had been touched by the reading. Timothy said, "Now it feels like Christmas. Thank you for reminding us of the reason for the season."

Whatever the reason for YOUR celebration this day, have a blessed and merry Christmas!

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Recap of Rebekah's Christmas Challenge

Monday, December 29, 2014

Recap of Rebekah's Christmas Challenge

In an earlier post, I had written how my twenty-year-old daughter Rebekah was lacking in Christmas spirit due to our family situation being vastly different than in Christmases past.

So I challenged her to "make" Christmas for us, without spending money and with using only the resources in these four rooms that comprise our latest home.

Since Rebekah decided to recreate our traditional Eastern European Christmas Eve feast (a modified version), I softened the "no money" edict to allow her to purchase a few key ingredients we did not have. While items were baking and simmering, Rebekah gave Ellis Island a nice cleaning, too.

She ended up making bread (no dairy, flavored with olive oil), bobalki (bread balls i a poppyseed brown sugar syrup, yes I know honey is traditional, she forgot to buy it), pirohi (dumplings stuffed with potatoes and cheese), mushroom soup (button mushrooms, sauerkraut, barley...and hers was better than mine!), spiced apricots, as well as banana bread and chocolate chip cookies for our church's annual in-house caroling party following liturgy the next morning.

She bought two types of olives, sparkling grape juice, split pea soup, baked beans, smoked sausage.

The result was a nice surprise when Timothy came home that night. Stupid us, we forgot to remove the lids before we snapped the picture!

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Five Minutes on Christmas Eve

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Five Minutes on Christmas Eve

As I'm writing this, I get a phone call from my nearly seventeen year old daughter Rebekah. She and her fifteen year old brother Daniel and my husband Ron are done rolling newspapers and are heading home. Communion bread for this morning's Divine Liturgy is rising in the oven, and soon I'll be out in the van throwing newspapers.

This is not how we used to spend our Christmases.

Years ago, when my six children were very young, Christmas Eve meant getting together with my first husband's side of the family and enjoying a special Christmas Eve dinner of twelve traditional dishes, that represented the twelve apostles. We continued that tradition up until this year when the timing of Christmas as per the newspaper schedule and everyone's work commitment made such a gathering impossible.

Then the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder as I was getting ready for bed last night, at the ungodly hour of seven o'clock (It's ungodly when you rise at midnight). I hollered down the stairs for Daniel, but he had left with my oldest son Christopher to pick up my daughter-in-law Cassie from work. So, I phoned my twenty-year-old son Timothy who was still stuffing Sunday inserts for their customers with Rebekah.

After making sure they were near each other, I asked Timothy to put me on speaker phone. He did, and I read from the Gospel of Luke, beginning with Gabriel's appearance to Mary and ending with the shepherds. When I finished, there was a chorus of excited voices. My kids were not alone in the warehouse.

A number of other carriers were spending their Christmas Eve there, too, preparing for Sunday so they could spend Christmas Day with their families and had been touched by the reading. Timothy said, "Now it feels like Christmas. Thank you for reminding us of the reason for the season."

Whatever the reason for YOUR celebration this day, have a blessed and merry Christmas!

Meanwhile, it's a Green Christmas Eve for Lucas

Cute Enough to Kick Your Butt

Recap of Rebekah's Christmas Challenge

In an earlier post, I had written how my twenty-year-old daughter Rebekah was lacking in Christmas spirit due to our family situation being vastly different than in Christmases past.

So I challenged her to "make" Christmas for us, without spending money and with using only the resources in these four rooms that comprise our latest home.

Since Rebekah decided to recreate our traditional Eastern European Christmas Eve feast (a modified version), I softened the "no money" edict to allow her to purchase a few key ingredients we did not have. While items were baking and simmering, Rebekah gave Ellis Island a nice cleaning, too.

She ended up making bread (no dairy, flavored with olive oil), bobalki (bread balls i a poppyseed brown sugar syrup, yes I know honey is traditional, she forgot to buy it), pirohi (dumplings stuffed with potatoes and cheese), mushroom soup (button mushrooms, sauerkraut, barley...and hers was better than mine!), spiced apricots, as well as banana bread and chocolate chip cookies for our church's annual in-house caroling party following liturgy the next morning.

She bought two types of olives, sparkling grape juice, split pea soup, baked beans, smoked sausage.

The result was a nice surprise when Timothy came home that night. Stupid us, we forgot to remove the lids before we snapped the picture!