En route to Amsterdam for our family Thanksgiving dinner, we finally gave in to one of the Christmas music channels on Andy’s radio, and so we spent the ride there and back immersed in our first brush with holiday music this year. It was time, and we needed a little holiday lift. On this day of gratitude, which also marked the anniversary of Andy’s Mom’s passing, we have learned to be appreciative of the little graces afforded in life.
A bright flash of lemon cypress and the mottled leaves of ivy among these scarlet kalanchoe blooms provide a lovely holiday entry point – proof that powerful colors and simple plants will always be better than any artificial tinsel or electric lights. I will try to take that lesson with me throughout the season, turning to the natural world for tranquility when all the human-induced holiday madness threatens to overwhelm.
