CHRISTMAS DAY -- a lovely day in my memory (well, usually), and another lovely one today. We had our quiet, tasty breakfast together, as usual, and then took a brief, brisk walk around Mystic for about 45 minutes. At 10:00, we drove to the Quaker meeting for worship, where I was able to feel, again, the great power of silence and doing nothing. We were a very small group this morning, but somehow the smallness made it even more special than usual. After the silence, we sat together for a few minutes, sharing after-thoughts, and the smallness of the group made the sharing seem especially personal and empowering.  

In the afternoon, we drove up to visit with Jamie, Amy, Matt, Noah, and Ava, and enjoyed a wonderful walk at the Audubon Preserve, and then a hearty Christmas dinner provided by Amy, helped by a tasty salad from Cia. It was so good for me to sit quietly with Matt and have a fairly deep conversation, and I also had some good, though brief, chats with Matt, Jamie, and Noah on our walk. There is some truth to the idea that walking (or doing something besides just sitting) can bring forth some fine conversation.