It’s midnight here in the Twin Cities and I wanted to share a short story (and some thoughts).
I woke up this morning around the usual time, and looked out the window, and saw a most beautiful thing: Snow on the ground. This apparently occurred overnight while the Big Guy (me) was sleeping. It just wasn’t an inch, it looked like 4-5 inches to me. And, it looked truly wonderful. I’m not a huge fan of snow (although I do love having it when I go downhill skiing), but I did enjoy seeing this white blanket on the ground, but I only wished it had happened two days earlier. You see, we had no snow on the ground on Christmas Day, and for me, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas without snow.
But, this morning, it snowed, and, it was glorious. I ran out to the front yard, in my slippers, and housecoat, for all to see, how happy I was, with this amazing white stuff, all around.
I bent down, swooped up handfuls of snow and flung them back into the air, screaming and yelling, “it snowed, it snowed!” (as all of my neighbors peeked out their window, wondering who the heck was making all that noise at 6am). [he’s fibbing here: it was actually around 8:30] Alas, my happiness didn’t last. I remembered Christmas had already passed. Santa had already come and gone, and wouldn’t be back for 363 days (but who’s counting?).
Finally, I went back into the house, sat in my lazy boy, and relaxed, reflecting about the real joy of Christmas: being with family, and watching the joy of a 2-1/2 yr old little girl named Lailah play on the floor with some new small disney animation figurines that Santa had brought her, and having her say (more than a few times), “chase me again, GranPa”, making her laugh and giggle and scream as you chased her around the various rooms round and round (until GranPa got dizzy), and then helping her unwrap her presents, knowing in your heart, that she feels loved by you and by everyone that surrounds her.
Although I didn’t get a chance to play in the snow with her on Christmas Day, I know we’ll have time tomorrow to do that as well as the chance to play in the snow together next Christmas with her, and for a lot more Christmases to come.
She is an angel you see, and she has caused such a huge change in my life these past 2 yrs, for which I’ll be eternally grateful.
This is what Christmas is all about. No present from Amazon (or Best Buy or even Wal-Mart) can match this joy (although that Kenner “authentic and genuine” Star Trek Phaser Ray Gun [which was on my list BUT DIDN’T GET again this year] comes a close second). We all know this, don’t we? Christmas is about love, and letting others (whether it be family or friends, or even colleagues at work). know we love them, and that we tremendously care about them and their happiness.
I cannot wait to see what the new year, 2015, brings. I hope it brings all of the love, joy, peace, both personal & professional accomplishments and satisfaction and everything else that we all want in our lives, and the lives of our loved ones.
Good night everyone.
