A Tale of Two Christmas Parties

December 16, 2017 by JoAnna 12 Comments

Our stream of consciousness post for today is, “contrast,” provided by Linda G. Hill at

https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/15/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-16-17/

Where would we be without the darkness that lets us see the stars at night. The heat of the summer is relieved by coolness of falling leaves. Winter’s cold will give way to the warmth of spring. We seek the sunlight in the cold winter, a place away from the wind. Christmas lights and candlelight are so much more beautiful glowing in the darkness.

Last night, I attended two parties. The first one was related to my husband’s work. There were some moving parts to the speeches of gratitude, lots of smiles and laughter, and singing at the end led by yours truly, because I would like everything to end with a song. But the bright lights in the crowded private room at the all you can eat buffet restaurant made this introvert doing her duty ever so much more appreciative of the second party – a small intimate gathering of people from my church, mostly choir members.

The second party was at a historic old house downtown. Soft browns in the rich dark wood beams and trim inside the house glowed with the reflection of candlelight. I don’t recall any light other than candlelight. Though a few were battery operated candles, a candle chandelier hung from the ceiling over the table full of food I couldn’t eat much of since we’d just come from the trough. Oh, yeah, now I remember, it wasn’t just candlelight, there were soft white strings of Christmas lights wrapped in green garland. In case you can’t tell already, I adore soft lighting. I choose restaurants for the soft lighting even more than the food. Plus, there was soft holiday music: “My Grown Up Christmas List,” “White Christmas,” ….soft, mellow, my kind of music, My mind relaxed into drowsiness as I listened to people I felt comfortable with talking, not feeling that I needed to conversate, but interjecting easily when I felt like it. It was wonderful.

I don’t think I have any more “parties” until New Year’s Eve. No, wait there is one the day after Christmas, that “boxing day” leftover thing. But it will be okay. I’ve got lots of excitement coming up next week, going to pick up my grand daughter – driving 5 plus hours each way – for her first overnight visit at grandma’s house! She can be a handful, so it will be an adventure. After she goes to bed, I intend to light some candles and listen to some mellow music, or watch an old movie and recapture the feeling of total relaxation savoring memories of delight sprinkled on dark chocolate frosting.

(Unfortunately, I was so relaxed at the second party, I didn’t think to take pictures. The one above from Pixabay, sort of captures the feeling.)

Here are the rules for the Saturday Stream of Consciousness:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!