egg nog with nutmeg (and rum, let’s be serious)
kids eating sugar until they’re delirious
meeting under mistletoe for marital flings
these are a few of my favorite things

red velvet ribbons and garlands of cedar
wreaths on the door as a festive guest greeter
paperwhite bulbs forced to bloom out of spring
these are a few of my favorite things

picking out presents on Amazon for loved ones
two-day Prime shipping on cashmere and Nerf guns
our mailman Steve and the packages he brings
these are a few of my favorite things

when the rain soaks, when the grey clings
when I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
and then I don’t feel so bad

The Carpenters’ Christmas and Ella Fitzgerald
“Away in a Manger” and “Hark the Herald”
Sufjan Stevens and all that he sings
these are a few of my favorite things

Christmas morning with people who love me
watching my kids faces light up with pure glee
enjoying the giving and the receiving
these are a few of my favorite things

flickering candles and strands on the houses
the upside-down kingdom this season espouses
light in the darkness and the hope that it brings
these are a few of my favorite things

when the news hits, when the mud flings
when I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
and then I don’t feel so bad

Rachel Womelsduff Gough and her family ditched the city for a patch of earth in the Snoqualmie Valley. Cheered on by her husband and two blonde babes, Rachel learns by getting her hands dirty, whether it’s gardening, chicken farming, neighboring, or adventuring with soulmates in wild places. She is a Master of Divinity student at Fuller Theological Seminary, and she can’t live without books, coffee, and mountains.