Wednesday, December 26, 2012

{advent hope part 2} aka dueces.dos.deux

I am one of those people.......I have to hand make some of my Christmas gifts.  It's an oddity too difficult for some to understand.  Yet, it's me.  I generally make gifts for the grandparents, sometimes for my sister and family, and the last few years I've gotten into producing handcrafted items for my husband.  Much to his happiness, I have not taken up knitting [as of yet].  But I like the whole [let's paste some meaningful stuff on a canvas type idea]........

This year's theme is HOPE.



Actually, I've decided to make HOPE my word of the year for 2013.  I've come to the conclusion that we need more of it.  We, as in, all of us who are human.  And it hits home.  This year, within a football field's distance of my home:
  • a house burned down
  • a 19 year old was shot and killed
  • I've witnessed a woman in the act of solicitation [as in prostitution for the street naive] on a Saturday afternoon
  • a young man living across the street was arrested and hauled off in the back of a cop car
  • a second floor apartment where children live was barged into by armed, masked bad guys
  • more than a few drug deals have gone down
  • and just the day before yesterday......an ambulance, multiple firetrucks and a few police cars gathered down the street due to this lovely story
I'm HOPING for a less eventful 2013 on Loudon Avenue.  And I'm HOPING I am hopeful and not resigned to negativity.  It's easy to give up and wish for the next ticket out or up or through.

This might surprise my husband and kids, but 2012 was, perhaps, the best Christmas I can remember. Granted, my memory is pretty much shot.  But I can't recall a more peaceful, comfortable holiday.  Trust me, I've had some quite unpleasant ones.  And this one was far from it.  I guess the fact I was able to give my husband a toaster for Christmas says it all.  There was a day when I would have never taken the risk of giving kitchen appliances.  While he's probably the only one who'll grasp the concept, it's taken a long journey to get to the point where a toaster is acceptable and not a ridiculous thought.  But since our toaster oven doesn't adequately brown a slice of bread in a timely manner, we're giving the old fashioned Proctor Silex the old college try.

Which brings me full circle because my word for 2012 was RISK.  I'm not sure how much I participated in risky business this year.  Yet, I'm reminded the toaster was a risk.  As was the artwork. Going off the list, away from the norm, putting myself out there.  Even after 22.5 years of marriage, that can still be difficult.

So here's to hope and hoping and being hopeful.  That Loudon Avenue will not produce anymore felons.  That our toast will never burn.  That the University of Kentucky Museum of Art will contact me regarding a display of my work [not really, but I can dream....].

Happy {hopeful} advent and new year!  

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