Tuesday, December 24, 2019

11:30 am: To celebrate this special day, we took an early (6:15 am) walk down the river into Mystic for breakfast at Sift, a wonderful bakeshop we were introduced to just yesterday by some dear friends. It was a mostly silent walk, as we were so busy just appreciating the mystery, the sacredness, of the light slowly dawning over the trees and homes and the Mystic Seaport ships and the silent, shining river. Light is such an important element in the Christmas story, and I think we both felt sort of suffused with light as we walked. A few cars passed us on the usually busy road, but in general there was, for us, a joyous silence as we walked, providing a vast space for our thoughts. Unfortunately, the bakeshop cafe was open, but there was no seating available, due to the tables being piled with bags of pre-ordered holiday pastries waiting to be picked up. We were disappointed, but we did pick out some take-home treats, and then had fun having breakfast at a nearby cafe. The walk home was equally satisfying, with brighter morning light and warming temperatures and fresh views of the river and big ships and geese going out for an early, icy swim.

We had a quiet and loving afternoon and evening, celebrating Christmas Eve with special peacefulness and affection. For dinner we had delicious chowder – two kinds – and crusty, tasty bread, and we enjoyed it in front of a comfy fire. We then watched about half of another film version of A Christmas Carol, but grew too sleepy to continue, and slowly snuggled into bed with each other by 9:00. Santa and his elves may have been busy, but we were lost in a Christmas dreamland within minutes.