Ashley Cook Instagram – december, you’ve been good. the kind of good that looks like slow dinners around small tables with friends. the kind of good that looks like talking while they clean the entire restaurant up around because there are still things to say. the kind of good that looks like watching someone perform and being brought to tears— heaven on earth when someone gives a gift with absolute purity of heart. the kind of good that looks like unhurried time with old friends and new friends and then family. the kind of good that looks like putting an ornament on a tree that you bought with a friend in the tiniest shop while traveling last month. the kind of good that looks like picking out a christmas tree with friends that feel like family. their kids running around, a candy cane being just the right treat. sitting in a small theater to take in a show with a friend who has been the most steady and the most kind for 15 years now. and a text from a friend to let me know that a precious baby boy was born. there has also been hard, sure. but there is plenty of good and i’m wrapping every last bit of it up. tucking into this heart of mine. a month full of unexpected gifts— one after another after another. grateful for a year that is ended sweetly. i will never forget it.