Lights In The Dark and the Second Best Christmas Album In the World
Man, I repeat myself constantly. One of those memory posts popped up in my Facebook feed and I clicked on it and ended up reading a bunch of blog posts from Christmas two years ago. I say the same things every damn year, "Look at the trees on my mantel" "God I love my boys" "I spent too much at Christmas" "Damn cats."
Yup, that's me. Then again, it's somewhat comforting to know that you are true to yourself, and that I am, for better or worse!
Reading those familiar posts was reassuring too however, as more and more I am amazed at the regularity of the rhythms of life, and they are just more evidence of that. Yes, there are the huge ups and downs we all have, but then there is that rhythm that goes underneath it all. And the short days of winter and the need for lights in the dark is part of that rhythm. I know that many people have a hard time with holidays but I love them despite the stresses that can go along with them. We're a small family and fortunate in our relationships so we're lucky in that. And the rest of life, well, as I always tell Ernie, "We'll muddle through." We've got the important things down.
Last night I put the lights on the Christmas trees. We'll do the ornaments tonight. Owen went downstairs and got the Uncle Mistletoe cookie jar and the little ceramic tree with lights that my father's mother gave my mother. I've always loved it. It's broken and glued together but it's perfect. Owen and Ernie worked out the extension cords so it could sit on the mantel with the other trees. Leo came downstairs and admired everything and then both boys went back into their respective lairs. Ernie and I sat in the dark and looked at the trees. He played the John Prine Christmas album and we smiled along. Then we sat and listened to the Aqua Velvet Christmas album (best Christmas album in the world after Charlie Brown...infreakingcredible arrangements). We talked about the fact that both of us, well all four of us really, were so happy to have the trees up this year...more than usual. I don't know if the weight of family tradition just feels particularly good right now in this uncertain world, or whether it's innate need for light and brightness as the days get shorter, but whatever it is, the trees and lights are very, very welcome this year.