IT TAKES A VILLAGE - REFLECTIONS ON THE HOLIDAYS AS WE BEGIN THE NEW YEAR.

 The one Holiday decoration that I wanted to post, but didn’t have a chance to before now, is my Christmas village from Department 56.  I have been collecting these buildings for a number of years and have quite a few pieces I must admit - quite a few!  I collect mostly their Dickens Village but add in pieces from some of the other D56 villages.  For me it’s all about a certain look and if I feel a piece works, or I can make it work, it gets to live in my village.

This year, as I looked at my village display (it’s always a little different each year depending on what pieces I set out), I found myself thinking about what a village is.  More particularly about the phrase, “It takes a village”.  For me this brought on whole new insights and understandings in my own life.

The Holidays are a very busy and social time of year for me.  They are filled with a number of diners and parties that I host, as well as dinners, parties, and events hosted by others.  While this social schedule is most intense at the Holidays, it does keep pace throughout the year.  What I have been most keenly aware of this year though, are the multitude of wonderful friends and acquaintances in my life that all of these opportunities surround.

I feel so blessed with the amazing friends that sit at my dinner tables, who attend my larger Open House gatherings, or who accompany me to the various events I attend throughout the year.  These people are all such an important part of my life.  They laugh with me, cry with me, grieve with me, and rejoice with me.  They are the solid rock that sustains me all year long and I am so thankful for their presence.

As I bid the old year farewell and enter firmly into the new year, I do so with profound gratitude that I will not be journeying through this year alone.  I will be surrounded by a “village” of friends and acquaintances who love and support me.

In life, it really does “Take a village”, and I am so grateful for mine.  Many blessings to you all this year!