I have been so blessed this holiday season. I had the opportunity to go down to San Diego both for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, and for the Christmas break I was also able to tromp around Northern California visiting friends in Sacramento and the Bay area. It is always amazing to me, when reunited with good friends, how refreshing it is to reconnect as if it hadn’t been very long at all since we last met up. I was able to spend the day with a friend from Hawaii, who I have not seen for 3 1/2 months; my best friend from high school, who I have not seen for about 3 years; my Bible study leader and friend from Cal Poly, who I haven’t seen for about 5 years; my outreach team leader to Rwanda, who I haven’t seen for a year; and another good friend from high school, who I haven’t see for a year as well. I’ll be meeting up with one other really good friend from Hawaii on New Years too. There is nothing like summing up what has been happening in your life for the last 1-2-3—5 years. It helps to put things into perspective, because a lot of times you don’t ever sit down by yourself to actually think about how you’ve grown, what you’ve experienced, and where you’ve come from and where you’re going. It is such a fruitful thing to do, while at the same time you get you hear from your friend as they do the same and you can rejoice together in how you’ve each grown so much, come so far, and anticipate what’s ahead. It is such a blessing to have so many amazing quality people in my life. Down in San Diego, this season, it was great to connect with the family I have and hear about what is happening in their lives. As an amazing feature this year, we had 4 generations represented at the holiday gatherings as my cousin had a baby girl earlier this year. It was such a joy to play with baby Allie as she is the happiest baby I know, and to see her parents doing such a great job even with lack of sleep some days. Having conversations with my Uncle Kurt about how to create skydiving formations at 12,000 feet, my Aunt Laurie about her pioneering new business in creating nametag costumes, my Uncle John about how to cook a delicious swordfish, my grandma about the goodness of God and the hope we have in Him, are just a glimpse of the good times spent with my family this year. In addition, my parent’s remodel is almost complete, and spending the days preceding Christmas Eve preparing/cleaning the house, we enjoyed the beauty of just how good it all looks. We even managed to get all of the Christmas decorations up within the one hour before the party (including the Christmas tree!). My sister and I had a lot of quality time together, which I’m so thankful for, as we drove to and from San Diego and San Francisco. We realized that gas right after the Grapevine is always 30 cents more than any other place in the Central Valley, and that Pea Soup Anderson’s is a great place to stop for lunch or dinner on the way.
I’m back in San Francisco for another week or so, helping my sister move closer to work and also doing all that I can to get all of my homework done for class next Tuesday. I’ve really enjoyed my time with all of these wonderful people in my life this season. It is probably the best gift I could ask for (however, my new laptop is a close second). I love everything that is happening in my life and for all that is ahead. I’m heading into the New Year with expanding optimism and can’t wait to see the blessings in store.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Janet Mulvey
