I am so happy to be in Utah for the winter holidays. I missed the snow like crazy, and last year didn't really feel like winter. We've got a good dose of it now, and I wouldn't take it back for the world.
The neighborhood roads are like sheets of ice because the HOA is awesome and didn't get the snow taken care of early enough... It's freezing outside, but I don't mind tromping around in the snow that comes to just under my knees.
The mountains are white, totally covered with snow... and it makes for a beautiful day if you pay attention. Sunrises and sunsets turn the white snow to a pale shade of pink that takes my breath away every time. It makes me so happy to look out the window, or even take the dogs outside. I shiver. Jack frost bites my nose. And then I peel a clementine and sip on some homemade apple cider...
This holiday season, I didn't focus on what I wanted for Christmas. People constantly asked what I wanted... when really, I just wanted to see my family and spend time with people that I care for. A digital camera would have been nice to, but I wasn't worried if I didn't get one. I honestly didn't expect anything from anybody. That's why it was such a shock to get something I wanted and seriously needed. My sister ended up getting me a digital camera so I could capture the memories of the end of my pregnancy and start documenting the life of my daughter. I don't think she'll ever truly know how grateful I am.... That aside, I was so happy to see my family together. And I never want to take them for granted ever again.
I have been determined to see this world through the eyes of a child. Being a big kid now, I look at the world and it seems scarier than ever. New moms everywhere worry about their kids getting sick, hearing something bad from a friend, or hell, getting shot. There's a lot of bad out there. Adults seem to focus more on what's wrong with humanity today, and during the holiday season the claws come out. Suicide rates climb, people become more interested in themselves and what they can get, and the spirit of the season is gone. It totally vanishes... Instead it turns to marketing devices, sales, and who can get the nicest whatever for whoever and beat the Johnson's next door with the Decorations.... (there was a house in my area that had the lights set to music on the radio... pretty cool, but totally over done.)
I got to baby sit my two year old nephew a couple weeks ago... He's realizing what Christmas is and he really sees the magic. He was so excited about the tree, and loved watching the really cool Christmas cartoons from the 70's.... After watching "Frosty the Snowman" like five times, and singing "Santa Clause is Coming To Town" a million more, he told me that he hopes Santa brings lots of snow this year for Christmas. When I asked him why, he said he really wanted his dad to teach him how to build a snowman. He wanted to make his own Frosty! With his dad! He didn't care what he got for Christmas, as long as there was snow to play in.
It was so cute... At that age everything is magic. You lay under the tree and look up at all the lights through the branches while the dog licks your toes. You haven't been hurt yet. Your heart hasn't truly been broken, and you haven't started learning the hard lessons that come later in life. It's a simpler time... On Christmas morning you wake up with the family and open gifts. Sure, later down the road you become selfish and want all the coolest toys. But when you're young and innocent, and so unbroken, it means so much more. Reindeer can really fly, Santa exists, and little elves make things out of wood as a part time job when they aren't working in Willy Wonka's factory. Anything can happen...
So why does this innocence have to go away? Why can't we look at the world through a child's eyes at Christmas time (or whatever nondenominational holiday you would like to insert there instead) and see that there is good in the world? Why can't the holidays be about spending time with friends and family instead of getting and giving gifts? I mean... gifts are nice and all, but what was the season really supposed to be about? Sure, you may or may not believe that a virgin actually ended up giving birth to a little baby in a stable that later grew and became the center of many cultures and religions... but there was supposed to be a meaning to the holiday season. What was it again?
Yeah, we should never take our families for granted. We really shouldn't need specific holidays to appreciate other people, like Father's Day and Mother's Day. But we are human, and it's easy to forget the important things... Like how much other people should mean to us. Or the fact that reindeer could fly and that magic was real.
I'm done with my seasonal rant... I just wish life was like the old days... simple. But I can make do with finding magic in my own way on a day to day basis.
Done.
Peace, love, and hot apple cider
No comments:
Post a Comment