A different kind of lighthouse

Moments from my wild and well-lit life (December 13-19)

Hi friend! If you’re new here: once or twice a month, I send a weekly dispatch from my daily life in the UK. It’s a collection of stories and things I’ve noticed—at home, in books, on my walks, in the world, and within myself. My hope is they feel reflective and calming, and inspire you to notice more in your own life. Writing them certainly helps me notice more in mine…

This is my last newsletter of the year, and it’s a special one. I hope you enjoy it! And I hope Tall Man enjoys it too. ☺️

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Saturday, December 13, 2025

It’s 3:50pm and the preteen and I are still at the dining room table. We’ve been sitting here for a couple hours, doing something we’ve done a couple times already this season: painting Christmas cards for the neighbours. This isn’t a tradition. We’ve never painted cards for anyone before! So there was certainly no plan to eventually paint cards for all our neighbours. Back in November, I had just been watching some reels on Instagram of people painting Christmas trees, wreaths, snowflakes, etc. and thought: that looks fun. Then I setup my watercolours and laid out a bunch of brushes on the table as an invitation for anyone to join me. Something I’ve learned in this family is how important it is to not place demands on kids, but to create opportunities instead—and just see if anyone picks up what you’re putting down. I’ve also learned that if I setup the paints, someone will eventually come paint with me! I’m never sitting here alone for long…

When we decide we’re done (for today), we add up how many cards we’ve painted: 5 in total. Then I turn off the big light (that is: the main light on your ceiling), so I can take the picture above. It’s taken time, but I have finally figured out how all the lights work in this house, as well as which ones I like most—and which ones to turn on/off for the best pictures. In order to take good pictures in the kitchen, you have to turn off the big light. But we hardly turn on the big light in any room, anyway…