Moments

A friend asked me about the moments that made my holiday. That's a nice question that helps me savor things.

So, here's my list in random order...

Moonrise-- We sat outside in the warmth and watched the moon come up on as many nights as possible. It was captivating each time.

Table art-- The photo above shows the mosaic table we made in the days leading up to Christmas. It was fun to break tiles and put them back together and see the ocean colors appear as a new puzzle that we get to keep.

Cinnamon rolls-- Byron's Christmas Morning cinnamon rolls are legendary in our family. Jesse made them for us this year and Byron proclaimed them the best ever. I get a sugar headache just thinking about them :-)

Thirst--Unknowingly, Jesse and I each gave the other Mary Oliver's volume of poetry, "Thirst." We both love it but neither of us owned it. Now we both do. I liked mornings at the beach when we read our favorites to each other.

Fragrant gifts-- Byron carved 4 wooden kitchen spoons for me from Olorian collected off the forest floor in Loita. Olorian is African Olive and is precious to the Maasai. Loita is precious to me and the smell of Olorian makes me happy. Also, the spoons are beautiful.

Feasting-- I loved the moment Liz tasted the freshly grilled marinated meat that Byron had prepared for us Christmas Day and the way her eyes got big and it looked like she had just fallen in love. I loved looking around and seeing friends, old and new, celebrating Jesus together.

Creatures of extraordinary beauty--The Carmine Bee Eater on the branch above our camp... The dark blue and deep gold crab Jesse found in the mangroves... Crazy colors just casually carried by these!

Starry night--We walked long on a dark and quiet beach, lit only by stars. Without a moon, the brilliance of the canopy above us was nuts. The tide had risen and the usually shallow crossing at the mouth of the river required that we wade chest deep in warm, salty water. I liked that it was 2 o'clock in the morning on the first day of the new year and we were drenched in powerful beauty.

Conversations-- Around tables, by fires, by the waves, in cars, in the kitchen, and wherever else they unfolded, they made me rich.

All the little moments string together and give us more to weave with.

What were some of your favorite moments from your holidays?