| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
The Whitehurst Diaries: The Between Week The week following Christmas unfolds with fewer demands than usual. No school for children, often a shortened work week or 'time off' for those who go out to a job. When the last of the leftovers have been re-purposed and trotted out, simple meals suffice. - SHARON WHITEHURST Click on headline for diary entry By Sharon Whitehurst The week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day has always, for me, had an odd out-of sync quality. Not in a bad way, not as a 'let-down', but a time rather less purposeful than usual. As a girl, involved in programs and choir performances for school and church, I experienced December laden with heady anticipation--words and melodies, light and color, propelling me through cold snowy days and purple, star-pricked nights. My Mother was a church organist and choir director, [although she would have chaffed at that formal title] some years she was teaching music in the public schools as well. Seasonal music was selected and practiced at home, verses memorized, melodies and harmonies perfected. It was an era when families in our small New England hamlet hurried through evening chores to gather at the Town Hall for the annual school Christmas Program--whether or not they currently had children or grand children attending school. Likewise, those who seldom 'darkened the church doors' made a point to appear on Christmas Sunday, drawn by the traditions of a sanctuary decked with greenery and the sound of a choir in full voice with pipe organ accompaniment. I had a gift of song in those years and no sense of unease when I stood, hands clasped against my best winter frock, to sing a solo. Marriage and motherhood expanded the traditions of Christmas. As with many young families, frugality was a necessity. A carefully chosen toy, a needed warm garment, perhaps a new book for each child; for the adults it was more important to be together, to share special meals, to exchange homemade treats. Always for me there needed to be moments for sitting quietly, good music in the background, only the lights on the Christmas tree glowing in a house settling for the night. The week following Christmas unfolds with fewer demands than usual. No school for children, often a shortened work week or 'time off' for those who go out to a job. When the last of the leftovers have been re-purposed and trotted out, simple meals suffice. There are gifts to be stowed away, decorations to dismantle. There is time to read a new book; time to linger at the table with hands clasped around a mug of tea; there is time to connect with friends and family who live far away---or next door. There is time to stand at a window, to watch the play of winter light and shadow, to note the grey smoke that curls from the chimney and drifts before the wind. I choose my church music this week from the less familiar carols--winter music that speaks of frost, snow, starlight, the drawing in to home and hearth. I drift through this between week, contemplative, appreciating the familiarity of home--of winter-blooming plants on a windowsill; the company of my cats, the warmth of scarf and sweaters for the walk down the lane to the mailbox. I line up the special moments of this nearly finished December, adding them to a treasury of past years: the rehearsals with two gifted flautists, the precision of our performance on the day, each note falling sweet and clear. The easy company of dear neighbors on Christmas Eve, telling tales around the wood stove; the generosity prompting unexpected gifts so wisely chosen; the scent of good food-- roasting meat, onions, herbs, sugar, spices. The restful pace of the between week is welcome, a small span of days to complete the circle of another year, marking time even as my mind trips ahead, moving steadily toward fresh projects and renewed creativity. This story was posted on 2016-12-30 04:59:44
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic News:
Maury Lewis: Information, please K-Mart closing stores, Russell Springs K-Mart NOT included Louisville Bridges: Tolling scheduled to begin early Friday Egypt Christian Church Pancake Breakfast Jan 1 No Wednesday night services at Columbia Christian Church New Years Eve Service at LFC DAV Service Officer January Cancellation Evelynn Grace Rodenberg, stillborn, (d. 23 Dec 2016) Razing of AC School Bus Garage will be completed soon Columbia resident arrested on theft of motor vehicle charge View even more articles in topic News |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
