A Christmas Morning Visitor

 As Christmas Day approached, I kind of tried to detach myself from it the best that I could.   This Christmas Day was to be the first one in my entire 62 years of life, that I would wake up in a house completely alone.

Gosh.  I really dreaded it.

But as Christmas grew closer and my days were filled with work, my wonderful family and friends.  Knowing that all were just a phone call away.  I started truly understanding that I wasn't alone.  My life was full of people who loved me.    As one of my daughters once said.. " You aren't alone mom.  You just live alone"

It took a long time for that to resonate within me.   I am co-dependent.   I've struggled with that for so very many years.   In different forms.   

Recently tho, a meme was going around on facebook.  I read it.   I realized it.

Now, I can heal it 

Nod it again.   The third time I read it, I understood it.   I'm not going into the deep feelings I had over it, I already wrote those all down in one of my journals, but as a co dependent pers

 

on, I understood the disorder in a way I never had before.  I saw it, clearly.  

So now, I can healO Christmas morning I woke up.  I had left all of the Christmas lights on all night which has always been a tradition for me.   I turned on the coffee and I decided to make myself some french toast for breakfast.  

After that, I'm sure I scrolled on my phone for a very short time, felt a touch of depression try to creep in and I put the phone away.    I opened the living room curtains.   Made a second cup of coffee and then I went to the front door to open it up and let the light in.

Something caught my eye.   A bird.   They always catch my eye but this was different.  It was a larger bird than the ones I see daily.

I realized quite quickly the creature was a hawk.   

The beauty of this bird took my breath away.  I grabbed my camera and began taking photos.  

Finally, he flew away. 

 I stook looking at the sky.  The beautiful ever greens, the trees and I felt awe for the beauty of this world.   

Google image search says the following about this Hawk

The bird in the image is a red-shouldered hawk

Adults of this species have dark and white checkered wings and warm reddish barring on the breast.

They are a medium-sized buteo, typically smaller and more slender than the red tailed hawks

The tail is black with narrow white bands

They primarily inhabit forest areas, particularly bottomlands near streams, rivers, swaps and marshes.

--Well, this hawk was visiting up on a mountain.--

On New Years Day, I went to a local park.  The weather was beautiful.

Coming home, as I turned onto one of the dirt roads it takes to get to my home, something caught my eye on the ground right next to the car.   My breath caught as I realized it was a hawk. The same markings, the same coloring.  I believed it to be the same bird.   I stopped the car, as as I opened the window he flew to the branch of a tree right next to me.  He was close enough that I could have touched him.   He sat there on that branch, very stately and proud and then he took flight.   He called his call over and over as he soared away through the trees.   Was simply beautiful.  Once more, my breath was taken away.   There was no camera for this visit.  Only my eyes.  What a beauty they beheld.

    

Spiritual Beliefs about this Hawk

The Red Shouldered Hawk symbolizes profound spiritual attributes across various cultures, acting as a beacon of vision, strength and transformation.  Revered in Native American traditions as a messenger from the spirit world, this majestic bird inspires elevated spiritual awareness and clarity.

Vision and Awareness - Intuition.  Clarity and to see beyond illusions

Courage and Strength - Stand strong through challenges

Guardianship - spiritual protector watching over you

Communication - Messages from the spirit realm or higher self

Determination and Focus - Stay to your path and goals.

And I made progress on the pink doll dress for my granddaughter and completed the crochet part of a twelve inch square.  I will be making two per month in a Ravelry group I belong to.  Each different but with the same colors.   I hope to create a stunning blanket out of it in early 2027.

The next journey that I share with you may be a little decluttering.  I have a third bedroom in this place where I have made my home and it is nothing more than a large closet.  Messy at that.   I hope to make some headway in this room by my next blog post!

My little granddaughter spent New Years Eve and New Years Day with me.   The weather was mild and we visited a local park at the foot of this mountain I live on.

This weekend, I packed away the Christmas decorations.

I did my yearly tradition of writing myself a note on a Christmas card, sealing it up and packing it with the ornaments.  It's full of my thoughts about the coming year.   Will read those thoughts when I unpack the ornaments as Christmas comes around next time.

Living in the mountains of Appalachia.   The beauty as I look out a window or even on my commute to work - I appreciate the place where my roots began and how I was led back here 38 years ago to build my life.

Sending much love to you all.

Thank you for stopping by and see you next Monday!!

Frankie sends her love to you all too!!