Wouldn’t mind extracting myself from the cold and the slush for a few days to build a holiday sand castle by the shore. I knew this ornament would conjure up those longings when I purchased it this summer, but took the risk anyway. Maybe it’s just the sick baby with a high fever, the work deadlines, the husband with jury duty, the last week of school and all that it entails… or just winter, perhaps, that makes the simplicity of the sea seem so appealing. I’ll be looking for a little bit of that simplicity tonight, after the winter concert and the cookies and the cocoa and the crowds. There are many joys of the season, no doubt, but the silent moments are the ones that I treasure the most.