Tis the season…
To cherish. To smile. To grant a wish or two.
You don’t even have to do the latter by the light of the moon as dear old St. Nick chooses. You can try it under cover of millions of tiny night lights winking throughout your city.
Whenever we finish dressing our tree in ornaments new and old, we plug in the myriad of lights and stare.
I don’t know whose smiles are bigger – mine or the kids’ – because with each blink, I hopscotch around my heart.
To the rhythmic swish of my sister, mom, and I pulling the branches of our aluminum tree out of frayed, brown paper tubes.
To the tin-like crackle of the “leaves” as we wove strings of lights ’round and ’round the silver landscape.
To the pop of the fire pooling sweat on the back of my neck as we worked.
To JM3′s first Christmas and the sparkly ring hidden beneath his blankets.
To Super G’s slack-jawed wonder at Santa’s ingenuity in delivering her pink bike to our living room when we don’t have a chimney.
To the fierce whir of cars rounding a racetrack for the 3,000th time on Christmas afternoon.
To my grandmother’s gut-reaching laughter.
Together, they illuminate home.
Video by Penelope M. Carrington at www.timesdispatch.com.
The views expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
