it's monday morning, and yesterday was the official beginning of the holiday season for my emotions. it started by finally seeing "love actually" with sharon. scoff if you will, but that's a movie that left me feeling good all over. i was near tears almost as often as i was laughing. the main theme seemed to be "if you love someone, tell them! and especially tell them at christmas time!" it did leave a few questions re: the appropriateness of sharing your feelings with someone who you have know right to expect anything from...but i won't overanalyze it. i'll simply leave it with a quote from the 10-year-old hero of the film: "what can possibly be worse than the total agony of being in love?" after the flick, i purchased my first eggnog latte of the season, which always makes me happy. it also takes me back to last year, when i was working at a downtown coffeehouse and nursed my eggnog all day long. it was part of my year-long sabbatical from social work, and taught me a lot about connecting with people where they're at. i just read a post from another blogger who asked how to connect with the "winos" on the street in his own city. when i worked downtown, i was on a first-name basis with a lot of those guys for the first time, and rarely got asked for money. (i get really annoyed when people talk about the big "panhandling problem" in cincinnati. what happened to the simple idea of "just say no" when you're asked for something you don't want to give? it's always worked for me.) a couple of things stood out: 1)it's much easier to build a connection with people when you're a consistent part of their daily environment. 2) the importance of just taking the time to sit in one place for awhile can't be overrated. most of my conversations that led to some semblance of friendship with people on the street started with a smoke break in front of the coffeeshop....of course, i'm certainly not advocating that you take up smoking if you don't already, but do take some time to sit and be present! but i digress. following the latte, i spent the evening playing dutch blitz with dear friends who are so, so good for my soul! i think it just might become a monthly event...we gathered at the brock home, which is a tremendous example to me of real, organic community...the kind i want to establish in my own household... well. i must work yet again. there's a lot to do before my very own canadian thanksgiving!