When I stop and think about my life, and my life with Maria,  as I do when I think of it, a number of different images come to mind – different dogs, places I have lived, my daughter and granddaughter, big storms and howling winds, lost lives, panic attacks, and breakdowns, books, and blogs

But the image that speaks most to me is Maria and the donkeys. Her love for them and connection with them is profound, it has touched me deeply and altered the way I see the world and our relationship with animals and nature.

I was out walking with Zinnia this morning and when I came home I saw Maria sitting out int he pasture, head to head with Lulu, her true sister in God and the natural world. The two speak to one another all the time and are wonderfully attached to one another.

This could be the spirit of Christmas. This is, I think the focal point of who we are and who we wish to be.

In a few minutes, we’re heading off to our inn to love each other and read and rest and be as still as we can be. On the way, we will be rocking to Lliego Navidad, the new Christmas album of Los Lobos. I’m bringing two books, No Man Is An Island by Thomas and Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time.

The flu I’ve been fending off for days seems to be creeping back, coughing fits, headaches, and fatigue. But that would certainly not keep me from going. I’ve been sick there before.

Once again, Merry Christmas.