Christmas arrived this morning with sunshine and blue skies. Ice covers much of the ground and parts of the road after a day of rain gave way to a drop in temperatures. I suspect I’ll see no holiday riders today. Since my Vespa is still in the shop I didn’t have any holiday scooter images so I decided to take one of the Christmas cards I bought for next year and make a picture of it with a sprig of holly Kim cut last night in our yard. Imagine that reindeer is a Vespa…
I want to wish all of you who read and comment here a Merry Christmas and fine holiday season. This year the season has moved me to take stock of all the gifts I have already received and are sometimes easy to overlook in the rush. It is the simple, everyday things that make up my life that are more important than anything I might find under a tree. I have much to be grateful.
I am grateful:
to have a family who loves and cares about me.
to have good and faithful friends.
to have a career I enjoy.
for a home and warm bed.
for being healthy.
for not being hungry or cold.
for having learned how to have fun.
for being able to look at my life and realize how many fine gifts I have.
In this Christmas season of gift giving perhaps the biggest gift we can give ourselves is recognition of the good we may already have.
Best wishes to all of you in the coming days, weeks and months.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.
God bless you, Steve, with a holy, healthy, and happy 2009! You offer the visitor much here, though you might not realize it every time you sit down to take to the keys. I’ve yet to come away from a visit to Scooter in the Sticks without feeling richer for the experience. There’s a certain, same feeling I get whenever I read Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” or “The Road Not Taken.” It’s a deep feeling, somewhat hallowed, and very warm. I get that same feeling often in reading your prose. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
Steve, If it’s any consolation, my scooters are still resting in the garage because Seattle’s snow removal plan is to wait for it to melt!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Kim.
Merry Christmas from the Palouse Country.
E.T.
How beautiful and meaningful those words are…
The weather in Belgim right now: it’s freezing -4°Celcius, and more days of mild frost to come. It’s been a long time since we had a white Christmas.
I can’t wait until spring will arrive, to go to the shop and get my scooter GTS 250.
I am still in doubt: should I take ABS or not?
My deaughter Jasmien (23), my son Floris (26) and my wife Mieke all proclaim I must be mad, planning to ride a scooter. They say it’s all a midlife-crise kind of male desire. Well,, I don’t mind. At night I fall asleep imagining me on the winding roads of Belgium, far away from the hectic motoways which are really overcrowded here.
From Flanders, Belgium:
Warm greetings and thank you for your inspiring blog. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year Steve and family!
Merry Christmas Steve! And thanks for the great blog! -twl
Merry Christmas Steve. Since all of Canada is in a deep freeze, we are all snowed in and our scoots are resting just waiting for the day . . . when they will again come alive. As you said, sometimes we just forget about the simple things in life that are the most important. Take care
Merry Christmas!!
I look forward to your posts and this one is especially poignant. Merry Pennsylvania Christmas to you and Kim.
And we are thankful for your warm, wonderful and honest writings. May the New Year bring you continued blessings.
Merry Christmas
To all of you who have commented and left good wishes for the holidays I thank you. I look forward to more riding, photography, and writing in the near future!
Joe: Thank you for the kind and generous words of encouragement. Being compared to Robert Frost in any manner is humbling. Reading “and miles to go before I sleep” is a thought that often rings in my head when I think of all the things I hope to do with my life…
Orin: Waiting for snow to melt is an excellent plan!
Jean: Best wishes on a new GTS. I think that for someone who doesn’t ride it is hard to understand the draw of moving away from the hectic life. It’s far easier to brand a mid-life crisis. Only time on the back of the scooter and the smile on your face will convince them otherwise!
Good luck!
bobskoot: I think you’ve hit on something important— the value of learning to wait. I think there the idea of waiting has been dismissed in favor of instant gratification, credit card spending, and everything else. I never thought about waiting to ride until the weather changes as a potentially positive exercise. I need to spend some time with that.
Thanks!
Steve,
I start each day by saying “thank you” as soon as my feet hit the carpet. Gratitude has become part of my life now.
My very best to you this season.
Have fun,
Bill
Steve,
I’m late but wishing you the best for the season.
Phil
Happy Holidays, Steve. All the best to you and yours.