Rock To Wind A String Around

A few years ago, I decided I wanted a break from the Christmas mayhem to actually enjoy the season.  Solstice seems like a lovely time to usher in winter with soup and homemade bread, and candles, lots of candles, so I declared that we would begin to celebrate.  It is usually a quiet affair–us, Pops!, maybe a few friends –dinner and a puzzle, with a gift for each tot.  I pick something small that would normally get lost in the Christmas melee.  This year, Elliott received a kirigami set, which will amuse him for hours between now and Christmas.

Although usually we stick to home for our solstice celebration, tonight there was a dilemma.  My very favorite holiday activity,   Tuba Christmas , was scheduled for this evening.  What to do, what to do?  I decided we could accommodate both activities this evening, and I’m so glad we did.

blurry solstice fun

There’s just something about the swell of more than 50 tubas.  By the middle of the second carol, I was cheered to my core.  As the concert continued,  all of the dark spots of my heart were warm, and by the end, I couldn’t imagine a better way to usher in winter than crowded cheek-to-jowl listening to the loudest carols known to man.   We came home to soup, and bread, and presents! surrounded by the glow of lovely trees and pretty candles, but really, the tubas crafted the beauty of the evening.

Happy Solstice!