{"id":884,"date":"2008-12-26T00:44:48","date_gmt":"2008-12-26T07:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/?p=884"},"modified":"2021-03-17T19:38:29","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T02:38:29","slug":"the-sweetest-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2008\/12\/26\/the-sweetest-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sweetest Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I didn&#8217;t put a tree up this year.\u00a0 I couldn&#8217;t deal with it.<\/p>\n<p>Just the idea of driving 35 miles to our storage unit in Auburn to get the tree, and then shoving all the boxes we&#8217;ve already packed out of the way to put it up &#8212; only to have to pack everything back up again while we&#8217;re in the middle of packing up the house to move&#8230; It all felt like too much.<\/p>\n<p>Besides, we were spending Christmas Day at my Mom&#8217;s house, anyway. Don&#8217;t get me wrong, I&#8217;m like a kid when it comes to Christmas, but I&#8217;m also under-rested, over-stressed and I have a living room full of boxes. Once the baby comes, we&#8217;ll decorate no matter how tired I am.<\/p>\n<p>And then snow happened. Apocalyptic snow in Seattle terms. The entire city is shut down. So even when I started to think that maybe a little Christmas twinkle might be nice, it wasn&#8217;t happening.<\/p>\n<p>Christmas morning I woke up to this:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2008\/12\/the-sweetest-gift\/sweetestgift\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4783\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2008\/12\/26\/the-sweetest-gift\/sweetestgift\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?fit=640%2C853\" data-orig-size=\"640,853\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-TZ3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1230243570&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.6&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"sweetestgift\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?fit=640%2C853\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4783 size-full\" title=\"the sweetest gift\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=640%2C853\" alt=\"sweetestgift\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?w=640 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=300%2C399 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While I was taking a nap on Christmas Eve, the husband braved the snow and hiked to the nearest drug store (which was nearly out of everything because of the snow shutdown) to buy their last box of lights and a few other items.\u00a0 After I fell asleep that night he wrapped the lights around our\u00a0tripod easel, added in a trio of stuffed animals, two chocolate bars, and topped it off with a tiny stocking that contained a beautiful pair of earrings.<\/p>\n<p>My guy is such a romantic.<\/p>\n<p>What touched your heart this holiday season? And what was the sweetest gift you ever received?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I didn&#8217;t put a tree up this year.\u00a0 I couldn&#8217;t deal with it. Just the idea of driving 35 miles to our storage unit in Auburn to get the tree, and then shoving all the boxes we&#8217;ve already packed out of the way to put it up &#8212; only to have to pack everything back [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[138],"tags":[140,129,351,702,29,13],"class_list":["post-884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting-living-well","tag-christmas","tag-holidays","tag-life-is-what-happens-when-youre-making-other-plans","tag-marriage-2","tag-romance","tag-mr-h","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?fit=640%2C853","blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?fit=640%2C853",640,853,false]},"categories_names":{"138":{"name":"Parenting &amp; Family","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/parenting-living-well\/"}},"tags_names":{"140":{"name":"christmas","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/christmas\/"},"129":{"name":"holidays","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/holidays\/"},"351":{"name":"life is what happens when you're making other plans","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/life-is-what-happens-when-youre-making-other-plans\/"},"702":{"name":"marriage","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/marriage-2\/"},"29":{"name":"romance","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/romance\/"},"13":{"name":"The Husband","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/mr-h\/"}},"comments_number":0,"wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"cvmm-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=300%2C300",300,300,true],"cvmm-medium-plus":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=305%2C207",305,207,true],"cvmm-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=400%2C600",400,600,true],"cvmm-medium-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=600%2C600",600,600,true],"cvmm-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=640%2C853",640,853,true],"cvmm-small":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?resize=130%2C95",130,95,true],"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/sweetestgift.jpg?fit=640%2C853",640,853,false]},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1fDeG-eg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2006\/04\/12\/identify-100-things-that-make-me-happy-16-40\/","url_meta":{"origin":884,"position":0},"title":"identify 100 things that make me happy (16-40)","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"16. tulips 17. anything that\u2019s just out of the dryer 18. dancing alone in the living room when no-one else can see me 19. really cool journals 20. taking a good picture \u2013 one that I\u2019m proud of 21. giggling 22. tickling toddlers 23. a nice peppery Shiraz 24. being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Inspiration&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Inspiration","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/life-skills\/inspiration-living-well\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/bird-1.png?fit=640%2C457&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/bird-1.png?fit=640%2C457&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/bird-1.png?fit=640%2C457&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2006\/04\/13\/identify-100-things-that-make-me-happy-41-85\/","url_meta":{"origin":884,"position":1},"title":"identify 100 things that make me happy (41-85 )","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"41. real whipped cream \u2013 not from a can42. art that grabs me and pulls me back to it43. watching movies44. flow \u2013 anytime I\u2019m doing something and so \u201cin the moment\u201d that I temporarily lose track of everything else45. being out on the water46. a beautiful view \u2013 especially\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Family &amp; Daily Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Family &amp; Daily Life","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/living-well\/family-and-daily-life-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":289,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2008\/08\/06\/the-great-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":884,"position":2},"title":"The Great Tree","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"There's nothing quite like sitting together under a great tree by the water when the weather is blistering hot. Anyone know what kind of tree this is? _________________________________________ Subscribe to CoffeeJitters \u00a9 Copyright Judy Haley 2008. All rights reserved.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Creating a Living&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Creating a Living","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/creating-a-living\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"025","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3202\/2736768141_bef3e2b7cf.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":115,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2006\/06\/04\/purge-binge\/","url_meta":{"origin":884,"position":3},"title":"Purge &amp; Binge","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"So lately we've been buying a lot of books and they're starting to stack up. This afternoon Mr. H and I looked at each other and around the book pit we call our home and decided that we can't bring another book into this house until we take at least\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Love&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Love","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/living-well\/book-love\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":162,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2008\/03\/28\/in-like-a-lamb-out-like-a-lion\/","url_meta":{"origin":884,"position":4},"title":"In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"014, originally uploaded by coffeejitters.The late March snowstorm caught our attention today. Snow is rare for Seattle, even in the winter. We took these shots around Wallingford and the U-district.\u00a9 Copyright Judy Haley 2008. All rights reserved.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Seattle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Seattle","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/life-skills\/adventure-living-well\/seattle-living-well\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"011","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2110\/2369837931_959644c1a2_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2110\/2369837931_959644c1a2_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2110\/2369837931_959644c1a2_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2110\/2369837931_959644c1a2_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2005\/11\/16\/millions\/","url_meta":{"origin":884,"position":5},"title":"Millions","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"I loved this movie. After the death of his mother, Damian is obsessed with saints and martyrs, and visits with them, asking each if they know his mum, Saint Maureen.Damian builds himself a castle\/rocket ship out of boxes down by the train tracks and a bag of money falls from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Daily Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Daily Life","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/living-well\/daily-life-living-well\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6646,"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions\/6646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}