🚘 Chevrolet Time Machine

“Close your eyes and fall asleep. When you wake up, we’ll be in Ottawa.” 

Those were Dad’s instructions to me and my two brothers as we tried to get comfortable in the back seat of our family’s blue Chevy Celebrity. Every Christmas, we piled into the car with gifts, instruments, pillows, Toffifee, and panettone for our five-hour road trip from Brampton to Ottawa. A journey to home away from home because our big extended family all lived there. It’s why I can pass out if I’m in a car for more than 20 minutes.

In the mid-90s, Uncle Peter drove a champagne-coloured Ford Windstar minivan with automatic sliding doors and captain seats. It felt very fancy, especially when he put on his aviator sunglasses and turned up Last Christmas for a car full of kids bundled up in snow gear. Whenever I hear that song, I smell Trident mint gum with a hint of aftershave and cigarette smoke. It still makes me laugh. Did he think we didn’t notice? 😆 

Every year, my cousin Ping and I would sing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…” We didn’t believe in Santa Claus, but this felt real…if we sang, it would guarantee snow. And thanks to Christmas in Ottawa, we manifested a White Christmas every year (at least from what I can remember). Piles high to the heavens. Oh the epic forts and long tunnels we built! I still sing the song every year and text Ping to see if she’s singing it too. I have yet to watch the musical film. Maybe this year, if Toronto weather complies. ☃️

Years later, I was part of the marketing team at the Toronto Symphony, and December meant we six performances of Handel’s Messiah to fill. Written in 1741 which meant we had that many years of tradition to help us, but we also had the challenge of making something that old, feel alive and fresh again. So every year when the first big snow fall hit the city and triggered ticket sales, we all rejoiced in chorus Hallelujah! (It just dawned on me, why weren’t we singing White Christmas as part of our sales strategy?) I’ve been lucky to sit through many of these concerts, including sing-alongs. There’s a scent associated with this too, an exotic blend of coffee, choir lady cookies, old lipstick, dusty paper, and the unscented scent inside Roy Thomson Hall. ❄️

What songs transport you to Christmas memories like a time machine? The ones that carry a smell, a place, a face, a feeling.

Music is especially potent at this time of year because it’s wrapped in ritual and repetition. A full sensory spectacle we return to. These memories don’t live in our heads alone, they live in the body. And they decorate time.

On this Winter Solstice (the longest night of the year) may you honour the dark without rushing it. And may you have people, places, and rituals that help you return to the light within as the light outside slowly grows to meet you.

If you’re feeling the nudge to decorate time with more intention this season, I offer you a winter bundle as a thank you for being part of the unfolding Balm story.

3 Soul Care Sundays: Jan 18, Feb 8, Mar 8
Regular value: $165
Winter bundle: $140 (save $25)

This is an invitation to move through winter with ritual, rest, and care, and you don’t have to do it alone. We’re warmer together. If this feels like something you’d like to be a part of, simply reply to this email for next steps.

🍵 In 2026

Here’s what’s coming up…

May your holidays be full of love.

With gratitude,
😍 Karen

P.S. Most people find out about Soul Care Sunday through a trusted friend. If you know someone who would thrive from this unplugged collective effervescence, your invitation might be exactly what they need.

P.P.S. We want to share Balm’s restorative music rituals with as many people as possible. If you’d like to bring it to your community, work place, or event, please reach out to me.

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