Merry Christmas, 2015 Style
- Dec
- 25
- 2015
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in personal reflections
The stockings were never hung this year; the ornaments I’ve carefully collected on vacations and memorable occasions didn’t make their annual trek from my garage to the living room. Neither did the ceramic Christmas tree my grandmother made for me a few decades ago or the nativity set we began collecting when we lived in Italy in 1996.
I just never found the time or the energy or the desire to produce my typical December decorations, or buy as many gifts, or attend as many parties as I usually do. I didn’t go to the mall; I didn’t drive out of my way just to look at Christmas lights. This season just felt overshadowed by my father’s death in late October.
But today, Christmas Day, I know that’s OK. We have a tree decorated with twinkling lights and a hand-painted ornament I bought this summer in Santa Fe on my trip with my sisters. Christmas gift bags bought yesterday at the drugstore serve as family stockings today.
Gifts cover the floor beneath the tree. There are sausage balls in the fridge and a table filled with homemade treats brought by kind friends. Best of all: both of my sons are sleeping in my house this morning.
A couple of weeks ago, I listened as my wise friend Tim Willis explored the theology of A Charlie Brown Christmas. He concluded with this thought (badly paraphrased, I’m sure): What’s important is not how you do Christmas; what’s important is what Christmas does to you.
Today, I can say that Christmas 2015 has blessed me. Not in all the usual ways and not with all the joy and anticipation I usually feel in this season that I love.
But this stripped-down season has brought me a measure of peace and acceptance that often eludes me as I rush to “do Christmas right.” I don’t anticipate this becoming my new seasonal norm; but for this year, for 2015, it is enough.
More than enough. It is good. And I am grateful.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned …
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9
2 Responses so far.
Search
Blog Categories
Contact
Testimonials
I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your wonderful work. I marvel at your eye for detail and your ability to make a written text so much better.
This book has been a major effort for me over the past 15 years—both emotionally and in time commitment. Your feedback helped me give it structure. Your insightful questions encouraged me to go deeper in my understanding and intentions, which provided enhanced clarity. Your recommendations provided a professional perspective that I needed towards getting it published. Thank you so much! When entertaining any future writing projects, you will be the first person I contact.
I can’t believe my good fortune to have found Tammy to edit my nonfiction book. I had narrowed down my editor search to ten; then I took advantage of their free sample offers. Nine of the editors were okay. Tammy’s edit, however, really showed her strength for detail and content development. I was absolutely wowed. She suggested, for example, how to improve the Introduction’s hook, added sentences that clarified a paragraph’s thought better, and deleted unnecessary words. She also mentio… Read more
Tammy Ditmore is an excellent editor. My writing improved grammatically, in structure, and clarity under her skilled eye.
I had a book manuscript that had a thorough edit by a copy editor, but there were many changes made and I wanted another set of eyes to look at it carefully. So I hired Tammy Ditmore to do a “final” proofread and flag anything that she found awkward, confusing or ill-fitting. That is a difficult job—to look both for errors and to comment, but that is what I needed. Tammy took it on and did a great job. Tammy also understands a schedule and finished the work on time—even ahead of time. Thank … Read more
Tammy Ditmore was the consummate professional. She was very humble in dealing with me and tailored her editing style to fit my specific needs. She was prompt and punctual with deadlines and was very open to communicating with me. I would hire her again in a heartbeat.”
Tammy is just amazing. Before my book made it over to Tammy, I had used two editors — one a well-known author in NYC. I was unhappy with the editing, and basically Tammy was my last try before I just set my book to the side. Not only did she totally understand my “voice,” but she reconstructed, added, and melded in ways I would have never considered. Use her, trust her. She’s the best!
I appreciate Tammy’s willingness to ask questions when appropriate, flex on deadlines, offer sound advice, and rewrite sentences or sections as needed. Her command of substantive and copy editing make Tammy an asset to any project.
Tammy Ditmore edited my book, The Quest for Distinction: Pepperdine University in the 20th Century. It was a huge assignment, requiring skills that set her apart from most professional editors. She recognized the key themes of the manuscript immediately and proceeded to examine each paragraph, actually each word, in light of those themes. The result was a briefer, more coherent manuscript that will be read with greater interest and understanding.
Tammy’s approach to editing was like telling a story to someone who listens very well and offers suggestions only when something is confusing or grammatically incorrect (or embarrassing).
Thanks Tammy, for those sentiments you expressed, mirroring many of my own this year though I didn’t experience the extreme loss you had. Time seems to help us look to what’s really important at this time of year.
Thank you, Susan. I appreciate your support — here and everywhere.