One more sleep until Santa comes!!! Am I excited about opening presents? Yes! Am I looking forward to stuffing myself so full that I can’t move off the couch? Yes! But something else that is present every year seems to have come more to the forefront this time around, and that’s the fact that I’m feeling thankful.
Over the weekend, Southern Ontario was blasted with a winter storm that laid a heavy blanket of freezing rain over everything. We fared a lot better than some because we never lost power once, but there were over 300,000 people in the city of Toronto who lost power, and half of those are still without power today and may remain that way until this weekend. Now, think about that – tomorrow is Christmas day. Not only did Christmas shopping and other preparations come to a standstill over the weekend, but people now have no heat, no way to cook Christmas dinner, and some have family who couldn’t arrive because of flight cancellations across the country. As my hubby and I were waking up this morning, we heard on the news that two people have already died from carbon monoxide poisoning from leaving a gas generator running in their garage, and there have been other close calls as well because people are burning charcoal in their houses as well as barbecues. And they are calling for a deep freeze this weekend, so things can only get worse for the people still in the dark.
In light of this, I found myself thinking of how thankful I am on this Christmas Eve. The presents don’t matter and who cares whether we eat a turkey dinner or a pot of Kraft Dinner. What matters is that we are all safe and healthy. I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful that both of my sons are home with us for Christmas and that we have been enjoying wonderful family times together. I am very thankful that my parents arrived safely from Kingston, Ontario where the ice storm also wreaked havoc. It took them a couple of hours just to get the ice off of their car before they could even start their trip to our house. I am also extremely thankful that my oldest son and his girlfriend didn’t get hurt when they hit a patch of ice on the highway on Sunday and did a 360 in the middle of the road, only avoiding going into the ditch because of the amount of snow on the shoulder. In the spirit of Christmas, a man in a truck stopped and pulled them out, refusing to take any payment for his good deed.
To sum it up, I’m just thankful for everything and everyone in my life, and that’s what matters, not the commercialized craziness that Christmas has become. So, hug your loved ones and don’t take for granted how warm and toasty your home is and how delicious your hot turkey dinner is. Be thankful! Merry Christmas to all of my wonderful blogging friends who have seriously become like a second family to me. You make me smile every day and sometimes even bring tears to my eyes with the beauty of your writing and photographs. My life is better for knowing all of you :).
When I got home from work today I realized that I was all ready for Christmas, so I spent some time experimenting with my camera and my Christmas decorations. Here are a few of my favourites.
photos from the loonybin 
I’m glad you were spared the the fallout of the ice storm. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas Cindy.
Thanks Edith :). It has been a wonderful day so far, except that I think I am having tech overload LOL! My mom was having trouble getting her laptop to recognize her new iPad, and I have been trying to set up a new iPad as well as Apple TV. I think my brain cells are smoking. I think it’s time to put it all away and get ready for our yummy turkey dinner!!
Your Christmas decorations look lovely.
Have a wonderful Christmas and joy always.
Thank you so much – hope yours is wonderful too 🙂
Have a great Christmas day which has now arrived…
So far it has been fabulous :). Everyone is happy and healthy, and I think Santa spilled his entire sled in our basement.
Merry Christmas to you, Christmas day now here. We had a 12 hour power cut after a horrid storm here in the UK but thanks to the brave men who worked through all the dreadful weather we have power again to cook our turkey!!
Mother Nature is sure not being very nice this year is she? She is making Christmas for many people quite challenging. I’m so glad that your power is back on and hope you had a fabulous turkey dinner :).
Cindy, very well put given I was one of those 300,000 without power. We are so lucky to live on a street with great neighbours (who also have gas fireplaces and a generator to charge cell phones, etc!) Thankfully our power returns the morning of Christmas Eve but I feel for all of those families who have had to leave their homes to find warmer digs.
A very Merry Christmas to you, Mike, Bryan, Daniel and your parents (give them a hug for me!).
As for your photos of your xmas decorations – they are great! You should print them and create your own Christmas cards for next year!!!
I’m so happy that you had such wonderful neighbours to take care of you. We all send hugs right back at ya and hope you had a wonderfully warm Christmas morning opening presents :). By the way, love your Christmas card idea!!
Absolutely spot on. We have had gales and rain in the UK. A few thousand without power. But, when it’s needed people put themselves out.
I wish a Merry Xmas to all. 😉
Same to you Graham. Thank goodness for all the helpful people in the world. It’s nice to know that there are still some around :).
A belated Merry Christmas to you and your family. This is a wonderful blog post and serves to remind me of all the things I am thankful for, myself. Oh, and Happy New Year (in advance)!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it :). I woke up that morning, and all of a sudden the idea was there in my head, and I immediately ran to turn on my computer so that I could let the words flow. I love blog posts that come so easily from the heart :).
This is a beautiful post, Cindy, I am so happy to see how grounded and thankful you are, you’re right, it can be so easy to get lost in the commercial side of Christmas and forget the most important thing, family!
I love the way the lighting refracts off that snowflake, what a cool decoration. 🙂 Your tree is so lovely and colourful too! I really like trees that use lots of colours and different decorations, we have used the same odd assortment of old baubles on our tree since I was young and they have been passed down for a generation or two. Trees that are colour coded with matching baubles are nice, but there’s something so personal, quaint and homely about decorations that have been collected or made. 😀
I’m so glad your son got away from his battle with the ice okay, and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas my friend! 🙂
You know, I think that as my kids and my parents get older I am really beginning to appreciate more and more every moment I have with them. With Bryan away at school most of the time, it’s so wonderful to hear his voice and laughter throughout the house again.
As for Christmas trees, I totally agree with you. Every year when we pull out the decorations, it’s so much fun to look at all the special ornaments we have collected over the years. You would love what I have done for the boys. They have received their own ornaments over the years, so we bought them each a little 3 foot artificial tree which they decorate with their own ornaments. Every year I get them a new one. Then when they eventually have a house of their own to decorate for Christmas, they will have a collection of ornaments to start out with that will hopefully bring back wonderful memories for them.
Awwwh that’s such a cute idea! I love it. 😀
Thought you might since we think so much alike :).
Hope you had a great day! Lovely shots of the tree.
We did thank you :). How about you?
I have been crazy busy as we all have and missed this post–but I too am grateful we did not get the bad weather–we had a lot of rain then a little snow but nothing like all those suffering north of us–I am glad you are safe and sound and all your loved ones–time to say Happy New Year now
… and may it be a happy, healthy, and prosperous year for all of us :).
Sorry I’m so late to reading – hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Love the pics, they are so wonderful, makes me feel like I could reach out & touch your ornaments.
Yes we did, and I sure hope you had a fabulous Christmas too. Hopefully my photos will help keep the spirit alive for you for a few more days :).