MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Yes, it's still Christmas! I had a lady snap at me yesterday when I said that to her. I reminded her that we're in the 12 Days of Christmas, so we're still in the Christmas season til January 6th. Her coworker piped up, "I've been telling her! I've been telling her!"

So, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've had an amazing week! I'm happy to say we were able to reschedule both gigs from last week's Snow Day. It made this week a little busier, but it was also wonderful to sing for people this week. On Christmas Eve morning, we sang at a seniors home where we visited all the different floors. On one floor, we found a woman with a huge soprano voice. After we finished our songs, she asked if she could sing us a Polish carol. It was such a gift for us! On another floor, we were asked to sing in a private room that contained a woman in bed, with her husband sitting on a couch. After we left the room, we were told that she's dying, and may only have a few days left. Having had a Christmas death in our family, my heart goes out to this couple. There's just something about Christmas that makes the mix of life and death even more pronounced and poignant.

That night, we returned to St. John's Weston where we sang for both of their Christmas Eve services. We did "Twas in the Moon" with djembe as our 'special', and "My Heart is the Manger" during communion. Rev. Michelle did an awesome sermon describing the Christmas story as part of the love story between God and humanity. (I think Gerald might have a new song coming from that any day now.) We didn't leave the church until one in the morning, so it made for a long night, but we were so thrilled to be there. The services were beautiful and the people were amazing.

Christmas Day, we sang at a seniors centre in a rougher area of Toronto. I spent the first few songs trying to sing through tears. A lot of these people were in rough shape, and most of them were alone in their rooms. Earlier in the day, I was feeling cranky for having to leave my family for a few hours on Christmas Day, but once we got there, I was so thankful that God had brought us there. In a wonderful twist of irony, we were given a parking pass for the day. They didn't have a "musician pass", so we were given a "spiritual pass". If they only knew ...

The rest of the day was wonderfully Christmasy - lots of food, smiling children, piles of snow, puppies chewing wrapping paper, lots of food (it deserves the second mention!). We sang again yesterday, which also felt wonderful, and today, we enjoyed a lovely day off. We won't be here for Mom's birthday next month, so we celebrated tonight with fresh lobsters. Such a treat!

I can't believe we'll be back in Nashville this time next week! Where has this month gone?