family
Family unites us; but it's also a challenge. All about fighting to stay together, and loving every moment of it.
The Christmas Tree Search
The smell of pine always reminds me of winter and brings back so many memories. Lately, my parents have stopped getting real Christmas trees. This season has been less enjoyable, too. I miss the adventure of finding the biggest, tallest tree that would fit in our house. I miss how the scent would fill every room. Picking out a tree was one of my favorite Christmas traditions since I was little, and I hope to do it again as an adult. Unfortunately, real trees became too expensive, so my parents switched to a fake one. Even so, I still wish for a real tree and that magical pine smell.
By Sarah Danaher29 days ago in Humans
Winter's Breath. Runner-Up in The Ritual of Winter Challenge.
You will do it a million times without giving it a moment of your time. Yet, in the winter things change, your exhale has life to it. You watch it disperse, often slowing down to change the shape of the air on exhalation. A simple, yet beautiful distraction during quiet moments. One so profound we notice our surroundings.
By Andrew Perry29 days ago in Humans
The Summoning of the Tree Spirit. Runner-Up in The Ritual of Winter Challenge. Top Story - December 2025.
Thank God for Christmas. And Hanukkah. And Yule. And probably a myriad of midwinter gatherings of light, food, and family Iāve never even heard of. Winter is tough, and most of us benefit from something to make it more bearable. Personally, I consider myself lucky to live in an era where frozen earth need not equate to a hungry belly, but even though I can gain eight hundred lumens of light at the flick of a switch, how much more pleasure is there in one hundred little five lumen bursts on a string? Or just fifteen in a candleās steady glow?
By Hannah Moore29 days ago in Humans
āMy Ice Castles Ritualā
**What made it a ritual Our visit to The Neuschwanstein Castle will forever be a memory held for me with my mother and my sister in law. I was visiting my brother and his family there in Kaiserslautern. That visit opened my eyes to see how good and spoiled we have it here in America. šŗšø It also showed me how people were grateful for air and then life. We traveled very far. Through faithful prayers we could get anywhere. I give it to my father for his discipline driving there. I really was astonished and surprised about the door opening. Just the fact that I could travel there still brings spirit me overly joyed in astonishment. The story is true and Iām overly joyed. I walked there with my mother and another. I was so proud of myself. We had token the carriages up half way.We got half -way and rode the horse gliddales up half way inside the carriage that was the opposing cheap , safe , but fun. My parents are the best, once again. I was very much in love and felt like falling in love. What brought about that? The fact that 1ļøā£ not everyone can make it up there safely. 2ļøā£ not everyone can travel. Not everyone can come up and back down safely downward on a snowy hill. A lot really was going through my mind. I felt like a royal princess. Whose hidden prince had opened the door šŖ. I jumped in astonishment! It was really astonishing to me.
By Rachael Frazier30 days ago in Humans
Winter Medicine. Runner-Up in The Ritual of Winter Challenge.
You know itās winter by the lake effect snow about to bury Central New York. My dad recites the thermostat rules, my mom reorganizes the mudroom, and I press play on my annual reminder that they chose this tundra. Wayne Mahar foreshadowing the weather on the evening news while we eat dinner. Two to three feet likely, below freezing temperatures, whiteout conditions. Itās barely November. Joanie Mahoney comes on after Wayne, and my dad smashes the mute button before her campaign ad can play. Sheās on the radio, the news, the billboards, and yard signs. My dad says what heād like to do if he ever sees her. We laugh, even my mom.
By Nicky Frankly30 days ago in Humans
Lying to Children. Honorable Mention in The Ritual of Winter Challenge.
āFuck! How hard is it to put your laundry in the basket?ā Freeing soiled man-panties from entrapment by my ankles I silent head-cursed my husband. Prepared to deliver daily commands of urgency to children, I instead irritably demanded to know why Holly was at the foot of the stairs crying. I am not a morning person even on the best of days and this clearly, was not the best.
By Jessica McGlaughlinabout a month ago in Humans
Shrimp for Christmas
Itās all right, dear. You can skip the ham this Christmas. The goose, and turkey, and whatever else, too. Unless you want to hand out a feast to the forest creatures? Lady Bountiful meets Father Christmas? Hey, you do you, my dear, but thereās already a lot of holiday spirits running amok; if you wish to aim for one of our seats with everything else on your plate, then by all means, carry on. But I would submit that you can strike Chief Cook and Bottle Washer off the list.
By Meredith Harmonabout a month ago in Humans
Red Under Ash
In winter, my ritual is not song. It is work. I crouch near the heat and do the same steps, slow and exact. I wake what stayed alive under ash. I feed it careful. I listen for the change in breath, the small sounds that mean the fire will hold.
By Richard Patrick Gageabout a month ago in Humans
One of the World's Saddest Songs You've Never Heard - Written in 5-Minutes and Recorded in One Take on a Single Instrument. Content Warning.
A song written in five minutes, recorded with one instrument, and captured in a single take is quietly breaking hearts and astonishing the few who have heard it.
By Damon Blalackabout a month ago in Humans
