Christmas Day doesn't need to be stressful...

Long gone are the days when I would stress over Christmas Day preparations. This year I adopted a laid back approach which meant the day was much more enjoyable – which is how Christmas Day should be. So what that I forgot some grocery items, like orange juice, avocadoes and shortbread biscuits to name a few, there was still plenty of goodies to eat and I really don’t think anyone noticed. It also meant I could improvise with some of the recipes.

The smoked salmon & avocado stack was still delicious despite the fact I had forgotten to buy the fresh avocadoes, yet I had some yummy avocado & salsa pre-made dip which worked quite well instead.  So what that I ruined the ham rind by cutting all the way through it – the redcurrant glazed ham was that yummy, it was devoured in two days.  So what that there weren’t the traditional shortbread biscuits to serve visiting friends and family over the course of Christmas Day and Boxing Day – the mini chocolate puddings, the delightfully decadent egg custard and those huge, juicy cherries were enough of a distraction. 

We’ve been spoilt over the years to expect food stores to be open every day and at all hours, and we panic when they are shut for just one day.  You see shoppers stocking up on food as though it will be weeks before the stores re-open.  The world didn’t end simply because I was missing some ingredients; Christmas wasn’t ruined simply because I didn’t follow recipes to the letter.  While it’s lovely to have a table full of delicious gourmet foods to serve your friends and family, we can miss the point if we make that the focus of our day.  It’s so much more important to relish the time spent with family and friends, for they are the essence of Christmas. 

Photographs taken using Lensbaby Muse - a Christmas gift - and textures photographed by me added to the original photos.

love peace joy for Christmas 2009

love peace joy, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

Here we are in the Christmas week, so I'm taking this opportunity to wish all who come across my blog, a very Merry Christmas. May you have the opportunity to spend it with those you love and cherish. I think there is no nicer place to be on Christmas day than with those we love and care for.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and wishing you love peace and joy for 2010.

Scream Aim fire Cover

This post is purely a self-indulgent one - so, please indulge me as I share with you this little music clip. After all, a mother can boast a little, can't she?

My Teen loves his music fast and loud, and not just listening to it either. For weeks now we've been hearing his riffs as he enjoys his new Marshall amp, and a couple of weeks ago he posted his first Youtube cover. Take a listen - I hope you enjoy it!

Here he is, practising the Bullet for my Valentine piece, shot one afternoon as the last of the sun's rays danced in his bedroom.

How Time Flies when you're having fun

Getting Ready, originally uploaded by Adriana Glackin.

The month of December always leaves me feeling a little teary and emotional. There’s more that 101 reasons why this is so. The recurring theme seems to be, however, the passing of time. How fast did this year pass, how fast have the past 5 years been, is it possible that such-and-such happened 14 years ago, is it really that many years since I finished school, I've been married for how long? – and on and on it goes. I question dates when events occurred, do the math and realise that in fact so much more time has passed than I thought. And of course, another sure sign of the passing of time is to see policemen and doctors, who were always so much older, are now in fact considerably younger – how and when did that happen? Aren’t they a little young to be fully trained?

The other sure sign of the passing of time is to see your children come to the end of another school year, and for those of us in Australia that coincides with the middle of December. If that isn’t a reminder that time flies by, add to that the milestone of reaching the end of compulsory education and you start to truly wonder where the time has gone. Our Teen has completed his compulsory education and will go on to complete his final two years of schooling. Schools celebrate this milestone with a dinner dance/formal where the students dress up and celebrate the event. For our family, that took place this past week and of course I’m being very proud and extremely biased when I say that I think our Teen looked very handsome and so grown up. Seeing him with his peers, many of those known since they were all in kindergarten together, was a truly surreal moment. They were all so grown up, handsome, well groomed, tall and – gasp – no longer babies... I can vividly remember his first day of school – and as corny as it sounds, it does feel as though it was yesterday...sigh... Is it really possible that 11 years have passed in the blink of an eye?

If the passing of time isn’t enough to make you realise it’s a fact of life that cannot be controlled or stopped, there’s the looming New Year’s Eve to contend with, now mere days away. I’ve given up writing out my list of New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, knowing that time passes so quickly and indiscriminately, I simply try and embrace the year ahead and all the adventures and wrinkles that come along with it.

If you’re a regular read of this blog, you’ll know that I like to share images that I come across in my interwebs journey. This time, I share with you a portrait of my Teen getting ready for his School Formal. I’m also sharing two links to some beautiful writing that depicts the essence of the passing of time. Written by two RedBubble members, I encourage you to click on the links and read their prose. If you’re a RedBubble member, please feel free to comment on their work.

youth's passing by Jordan Busson

The Pendulum of Life by Margie Avellino