Changing Seasons – December

“Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.”
John Boswell

December has not been a good month for us this year. On 23rd November my 94-year-old mother-in-law passed away shortly before her 95th birthday. We were hoping to move her into a residential home where she could be better looked after and more comfortable, but that wasn’t to happen. She wanted to stay ‘independent’ in her own home and she did even though that so-called independence came at a price as family members strived to ensure her needs were met. Organising care from a distance is not easy and meant monthly journeys to check everything was being done as it should be accompanied by an element of guilt for not doing more. We wanted to respect her right to choose where she lived whilst at the same time we worried about her state of health and mental capacity.

We only returned to Cornwall in mid December after three long weeks of sorting out her ‘estate’ and funeral with Christmas almost thrust upon us this year. We barely acknowledge Christmas anyway, but this year it almost completely passed us by. Walks in the lanes have been thwarted by constant heavy rain and gale force wind, along with fog and dampness. And from what I have seen from the car everything looks sodden and brown.

At this time of year, teasels are a wonderful winter sight with their dried architectural heads. Historically the prickly tips of the fuller’s teasel were used for raising the nap on woollen cloth hence the verb “to teasel” meaning to carry out the process of fulling. The Romans referred to it as “Venus’s basin” due to the trough-like leaf formations at its base. According to folklore the water collected here is believed to have healing properties.

We could do with some healing properties right now.

The Changing Seasons | December