For those reading this blog, you know that we will be reaching a two-year milestone in February for this project! Wow, does time fly! Two years ago, I was living in NH, working at Southern New Hampshire University, getting ready for the launch of the fully-online MFA in Creative Writing Program. This blog project started in relation to the creation of that program, as I had been wanting to explore personal branding, online writing communities, social media, & self-promotion for a wide range of authors. Given my inherent introversion, I thought this blog could serve multiple purposes–those both professional & personal. Little did I know how much I would grow during this period of career development! I now have over 37K followers on Twitter & over 13K connections in LinkedIn. My work on LinkedIn, the LinkedIn Learning & professional certifications & endorsements, eventually led to my career move to Western Governors University. Readers will know that I love & miss our farm in Goffstown, NH, so making the big move to the West was a huge decision. And Christmas does create a bit of a pang for me, as I loved that Currier & Ives winter setting that felt so idyllic there. I mean, white Christmases & all.

Yet, a tree with lights, a hearth, candles, & silly ornaments can certainly provide a great start! Especially if you include a life-size porg tucked into the tree.

Even though we will be heading home to New England for 10 days to visit family in Rhode Island & New Hampshire, I felt it important to capture some of the hygge & cheer I would have demonstrated at the farm here in Utah so that the little one could feel the holiday spirit. Children really do make the holidays magical, & I didn’t want him to feel short-changed. It’s actually been pretty great now that he’s been talking more & showing more personality. For example, when we drive home from preschool, the little thrills at spotting the Christmas & holiday lights in nearby neighborhoods. Many homes have spectacular displays that dazzle the eye. (Forgive the blurriness of the below pictures, as there was relatively low light at the time the images were taken. But you can get the idea!) We listen to classic holiday music while driving through, which reminds me of rides my own parents would take with us kids.

Lit trees were a pretty big deal in the 80s as a kid because we didn’t have all of the flashy electronics & LEDs of modern day. I remember being thoroughly enthralled by the mini-lava lamps shaped as candles on my aunt’s Christmas tree. She seemed SO super swanky in having such neat lights.

Making cookies is another tradition that inspire feelings of cheer & nostalgia. I used to make & decorate sugar cookies with my nieces in the kitchen at my family’s home on Prospect Street in Laconia, NH, & we’d listen to Christmas music or the BBC radio performance of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Or, we’d listen to Billy Joel & Hall & Oates, depending on what year visited in my memory. My aunt would make & give delicately thin sugar cookies as Christmas gifts, & I remember trying to roll the dough so thin & then watch them carefully in the oven so they wouldn’t burn, & wow was that a feat! I congratulated her on her expert confections, having been so challenged myself in baking. And, so, we commenced with the cookie-making tradition here in Utah.

Please note that there was practically more decorative sugar on the baking sheets than the cookies themselves. These are definitely NOT keto-friendly.

As an introvert, I’m bracing myself for the holidays to come. Trips back home are wonderful, of course, but they are also extremely enervating. Everyone wants a visit, & there’s the catching up on life, the whirlwind of places to stop & crowds to be around all in the name of the season. Even now, I’m writing, preparing for the little’s Christmas/holiday show at a local church, this afternoon. His class will be performing a number of songs, so I will be leaving work to attend–he even has an adorable holiday lumberjack outfit to wear! (Including a hunter’s cap with the ear flaps & faux fut trim.) Please don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly happy to see him sing! It’s just the being an introvert parent part that’s a challenge. Your body takes a physical toll when socializing & being around a lot of people & commotion. That’s just a fact. So, it becomes essential to find periods of alone time to recharge. That will be the biggest thing while in New England. How to visit everyone while also engaging in self-care habits? Without offending anyone?

In any case, I wish all–introvert, extrovert, & ambivert alike–a very cheerful set of days ahead, leading into a fabulous New Year & New Decade! I’ll leave you with some favorite ornaments, including an egg ornament I made when 10 years old as a Girl Scout. It’s still intact!