'Tis the season for maker's markets
And being inspired by the craft of local artisans 
'Tis the season for fairy lights
And enchanted trees
'Tis the season for sharing a beverage with a dear friend
And warm bread sticks dipped in cheese 
'Tis the season for holding sadness in your heart
And lighting pine-scented candles to burn away the pain
'Tis the season for reflection and sharing and warmth 

The delightful fun of the cookie exchange
The rush of the sugar high
The satisfaction of late night Hungry Jack’s

Toasting flour
Mixing in icing sugar (called confectioner’s sugar in the US)
And powdered milk
And melted butter
And pressing it all into the mould
Thinking of Abuela
And remembering Christmases past
And sharing the taste of home

I love the warm-up guy
The fun of
“I can’t hear you!
Let’s try that again!”
The silly fun of audience participation
En-masse laughter therapy
With a room full of strangers
Watching the stage hands
Quickly and quietly moving set pieces
The strange smallness of the set
Which looks so much bigger on tv
The cameramen (and they are all men
Though the rest of the crew is more balanced)
And the way they peer through their viewfinders
Framing the scene
The prompter
With her oversized binder and clipboard full of notes
It looks like theatre, but different
And then
Kelly singing
O Holy Night
A joy to behold.

When you wake up in the dark
And you’re not sure if the western sky is still black or stormy
And slowly the sun ascends
And the sky turns from black to grey to pale blue
And it turns out to be a gorgeous morning
And you head out for a brief brisk run
And it feels good to feel the chill of the air
In your lungs
And the warm sun
On your face

​The magic of an NYC Christmas
Where the concrete jungle becomes a fairy forest
Adorned with thousands upon thousands of tiny sparkling lights
And whimsical decorations and
The store windows transform into enchanted storyboards
Depicting the fantasy of happiness through consumerism
A long overdue reunion with Aussie family
In “chalets” overlooking the ice rink and the tree at
Rockefeller
Sharing hot chocolate and apple turnovers and s’mores
(Happiness through consumption)
And theatre stories

Heading uptown
To your new neighborhood
Confirming that, yes, you will take the apartment
Celebrating with mocktails and truffle mac and cheese at Lucille’s -
One of your childhood nicknames
And laughing at the coincidence of one of the pizzas on the menu being called Arthur Ave
Of all the streets in all the world!

​The delight of initiating
Americans
To their first taste of
Fairy bread

The satisfaction of sautéing onions and garlic
And fragrant spices
Adding chicken and crushed tomatoes
And letting it all simmer

Saturday mornings are for
Smashing pumpkins in the park
Playing in crunchy autumn leaves
A visit to the library and
Coffee in the warm winter sun

A quiet hour of 
Writing and admin
With a cup of hot chai 
​And a cheese danish