peace on earth

For the first time in almost 30 years, we have spent Christmas as just two of us. Of course we had a kind of Christmas earlier in the month, with two of our children and a pie and a tree, but in truth it is not a very moveable feast. It's the one day of the year when the shops and banks and petrol stations are really and truly shut, and when everyone is talking about their family and the 20 people they have to cook for. What it must be like to be on your own on this day, I don't know. 

We are not the most traditional of families, admittedly, so have never really done turkey/trimmimgs/Queen's speech. (I remember that the first year I met D, when he was 21, he spent Christmas in a snow cave in the Lake District). We do like to have a special day, though, so after church this morning we headed for the beach with Jess (so there were 3 of us really). It was high tide and a different kind of day from yesterday - the lack of visibility and the proximity of the sea gave lent an intimacy to the experience. It was very peaceful.

I hope that all of you have had a lovely Christmas, wherever you are and however you spent it :-)