Today my body asked for rest, so I tried to listen.

It is a quiet day. According to the old calendar, today is Svyat Vechir – Orthodox Christmas Eve. Ukrainians no longer celebrate Christmas in January, but it’s good to remember. Maybe, the day still has some old magic.

I love noticing small things in which my children resemble me. Today, I have noticed my son following the beat of the music during his skating class. The skating rink soundtrack is wholly unremarkable, it is there for background only, but my son was nodding and shimmying while trying to keep steady on his skates. It made me smile and feel that particular tenderness one feels when one sees oneself reproduced in a tiny human being. He notices the soundtrack the way I do and one he does I just can tell it makes everything better and lighter. I wonder if he, when he becomes older, would prefer, like me, the serendipity of an accidental song overheard in a café or on a radio to a carefully curated unsurprising playlist. If he will keep his sound down and his earphones off for a chance to overhear something and get inspired. I hope he does.

It looks like it’s finally really properly snowing. Nine times out of ten the snow starts after dark, as if it wants to take its time to prepare a proper surprise. Or maybe, it just likes to have a few hours to lay quietly, in perfectly even layer, before the dog paws, human feet and car tires mess up the perfection. Maybe, tomorrow the snow will be think enough to sled.