Everyday Traditions

I make coffee first thing when I get into work. I check my overnight e-mail to the rude and steamy sounds and scents of Mr. Coffee gurgling and spitting behind me. By the time other staff members start arriving and my boss stops by to fill his morning mug and we all make sure we�re alive and healthy, I�ve skimmed a couple of newspapers online and figured out what I�d like to get done that day.

I like the bitter coffee tastes and aromas slapping me awake, and the chance to quietly organize myself.

But mostly I look forward to the ritual for its own sake. Generally those few minutes turn out to be the last predictable ones before bedtime. The unexpected adds interest to life, but we also need something stable to hang on to.

My coffee ritual comes to mind as I meditate on the photos printed in this issue showing winter scenes of model holiday villages that appear this time of year on the shelves and tabletops of so many homes.

Just like the routine that launches my workday, these model communities freeze a memory we�d like to have. This tradition takes us to a place where Christmas is always white, snowmen or children always sing around a mirror pond, and lights glow warmly from inside homes and churches. These towns embody the quiet hope and promise of the season.

Routine turns into tradition in another part of this month�s issue as well. Joe Burgess, an energy advisor with Blue Grass Energy Cooperative based in Nicholasville, writes about his annual habit of harvesting, displaying, then destroying a cedar tree. He admits that parts of his yearly ceremony don�t make sense. But it�s what he does. And he�ll do it again next year.

The regularity and reliability that define tradition mark the dependability we strive for in delivering Kentucky Living to you. We hope you look forward to entertaining information about your state and your local electric cooperative, and that it�s as dependable as the electricity that keeps your home warm and bright.

All of us at Kentucky Living wish you enjoyment in all your traditions, whether every day or every December.

Merry Christmas.