Capturing December

I’ve been waiting since Thursday. For the call from Southern Living. Asking to feature my turkey on the cover of their next issue. Y’all, it looked really pretty. All that rosemary, garlic (doubled garlic=open window) and sage roasting in the oven made the turkey look very official. There were bumps in the road, it wasn’t perfect by any measure. What the heck is savory? I looked for 5 minutes in the spice aisle (which by the way is home to the most unattractive names for food ever-tartar? marjoram?) and couldn’t find this “savory”. So I decided it was a suggestion not a necessity.

I did get the innards out. And by “I”, I mean Darrin. Butterball is to be thanked though, for putting all that disgusting in a bag to pull out. The turkey was still frozen Wed night. But by Thursday night, we had a roasted turkey on the table. One that had been in and out of the oven no less than 5 times. Heather and the fancy digital thermometer have trust issues. Thank you for all the suggestions and advice. I needed it, for sure. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, we have an overload of thankfulness to give.

Now on to December.

Tucker has given me so many life lessons in the 20 months leading up to this Christmas. The gifts his circumstance brought into my life are ones that I’ll carry for the rest of my days. One is perspective. Another is gratitude. There is one gift though, that has in the most subtle ways, started to fade. One of the things I held so dear last year at the holidays was the obviousness of being present. Not wasting moments. Understanding wholly the need to be all in. As this holiday approaches I realize that the deliberate-ness of my being present has faded just a little. The routine and balance of normalcy that has slowly made it’s way back into our lives was something that we once craved. It also though, chips away at the commitment I made to never take days for granted.

I don’t want to forget to capture moments. I want to be fully present. In the days and moments and conversations that matter.This month that is so festive and so reflective, I don’t want to miss it. I want to be all in this Christmas. With Tucker, with Darrin, with my family, with the reason we celebrate the holiday. So I’ve landed on a few things that Team Hucks will do this season to help us focus on being present in all that the holiday brings. Starting tonight, we will read the Christmas story, different verses each night leading up to Christmas. As you’ll see from this video we’ve got some storylines to sort out. I’ve also decided to do something simple but deliberate over the 31 days of December to capture moments from each day. I found it on Pinterest, and all you need is a camera. Each day in December is assigned a word/thought and the goal is to capture it in a picture using your own lens of the day. I’ve adapted a couple of the words to fit our family better. I’ll post some of the pics over the course of the holiday.

Whatever the year has brought to your doorstep, I know there are moments for all of us that draw our perspective into close orbit. Circumstances that make us say we’ll never take moments for granted. Or quiet times when our reflection whispers back to us that we’re moving too fast. There are 31 days left in this year. Be deliberate about staying present in each one. Capture your December.

“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Luke 1:30-31