Dark Days

I'm up to my ears in Christmas Prep, and also just regular life Prep. I'm having a minor surgery next week- and I'll be on light lifting duties for a while so I'm trying to make sure the house is set up exactly the way I'd like it to be. And keeping in mind that other people will be helping in the kitchen, so I may want to clean out the pantry, which looks as though I've been just blindly throwing crap in there for about 6 months ( I may have actually been doing that...then having to just rummage around until I find what I'm looking for- which is fine (ish) for me- but a bit much to ask of my sister in law).
Also the fridge was not looking its best- I finally threw out the whipping cream that was at least a month past it's due date- but inexplicably not rotten. We weren't eating it- just keeping it there as a sort of...Pet? Science Experiment? Example of my crappy housekeeping? Who knows- anyhow it's gone now- (I sniffed it one last time though- still fine).

It feels somehow right to be doing this sort of thing as the days get darker and darker. Clearing up the junk symbolically to prepare for the new year- new chances, new experiences, new clutter. I feel like it's a nesting urge almost, to cozy up things, and tidy away the unpleasant, maybe it's a sort of hearkening back to a time when the winter solstice was still an important thing, a symbol of rebirth, and the life giving sun coming back, in full to nourish our souls and fields. Or even before that, when this darkening of days would be scary, full of families huddling around the fire to keep the darkness at bay.

It's not hard to go there mentally is it? Especially up here in the northern hemisphere- when the sun comes up later and later, and and goes down faster too- when it's gray and then black, with only the moon to shine on the snow. I feel like the closer we get to solstice the more noticeable the sun's late rise is- as though it's late by a half hour each day now, so much so that we wake disoriented, and groggy, huddling into the covers (except for N who still wakes up at 7:45, and was totally flabbergasted when I explained to her that adults like to sleep in sometimes, her jaw literally dropped).

It's also something to be grateful for though, in a way, a chance to get closer and cuddle up- to share meals, and celebrate with each other. It's not surprising that humans have always gathered at this time of year, to re affirm life and love. And even though I'm not really Religious, and not really sure about Christmas, I'm still sure that at this time of year- some sort celebration has to be had, we need to gather our friends and family close, and enjoy life, eat too much, sing (out loud even, in public!), and just generally live in a way that is our best, in the hopes of continuing on that best life in the new year.

This photo has nothing whatsoever to do with the writing above-
 I just found it on my camera after N had had it for a little while,
and thought she'd want me to share it- for laughs.