a path in the woods

i keep thinking i'm in a movie
or a dream
or a calendar.
or back at tarryall.
those are the only times i can reconcile this great
beauty and my participation in it.


the sounds consist of nothing but wind
through the pines and aspens, brooks
bubbling, mosquitoes humming and
birds tweeting to their kin from above.


the smells range from
musky earth to
fresh spruce to
manure on the path donated by the trail horses yesterday.
the smell of

nothing

that shouldn't be here
makes me want to jump around my comrades
yelling
"do you believe this?!
AND WE ARE IN IT!"

liftoff

i am almost ready.  well, i still have to figure out what i am taking, pack, shower, sleep, get up, double check, last minute leftovers pack, and go to the airport.

what i mean is, i am so ready to GO.  the moment i step foot into the airport/plane/terminal/into my parents arms/the chilly michigan air can't come soon enough.  

THIS is the anticipation i want for jesus this christmas.  it may, or may not be even remotely close to his actual birth date, but i want to be so focused on his life and the things he told me as he entered the world, the way he came,  that nothing else matters.  not gifts, not lost luggage, not delays or cranky travelers.  

i am ready for christmas.  ready!!  now i have to go think about what i am taking.