There is something distinct about the middle of December. The days feel full, yet there is a quiet undercurrent that asks us to pay attention. We are not rushing to take anything down. Our home stays dressed for the season through Christmas, the twelve days that follow, and Epiphany. This year, we are learning to live inside the rhythm of it.
The decorations stay where they are. The tree still glows in the corner, and the Advent calendar has been well used this year. The house feels calm yet full of anticipation, as it often does when Christmas is close.
Light moves through each room quietly. It slips in during the late afternoon and settles wherever it lands. Sometimes it brightens the kitchen as I start dinner, and other times it softens the whole room without drawing any attention.
Having a bit of space in the evenings has helped us slow our pace. It gives us time for simple tasks like preparing meals, clearing the table, or helping the children hang one last ornament. These small things keep the day steady when everything around us tries to move quickly.
Letting light in here mostly comes from ordinary moments, like pausing before lighting a candle or the few minutes we spend together before the night gets busy again. It happens when we sit together after dinner instead of rushing to finish the evening. It occurs through the gentle act of being here with the people we love.
We do not need to fill every hour. Sometimes the quiet moments before Christmas carry more meaning than anything on the calendar.
Wherever this season finds you, I hope you can return to what holds your home steady. I hope the light that reaches you now becomes the light you carry into Christmas and the days that follow.
Tori Nicole
Graceful Living, One Day at a Time