The Weather Channel has predicted snow showers tonight and tomorrow and I am soooo not ready. Shoveling, snow-blowing, stepping in cold puddles from tracked-in snow. Arrgghh!
I am really not a pessimist. I do strive to see the true value in what nature and God brings to me. But, if Mother Nature decided to let Northern Michigan have a green Christmas I would be okay with that.
And then there are the mornings... The dawn-lit, peaceful mornings where (even though you may be driving to work) the sun glitters across the virgin snow. You know the kind of morning I'm talking about. The kind of morning when the bare branches of the young trees are covered in a magical frost that glistens in the nebulous arctic air. If you're lucky you may even see a deer prancing through the field with thick vapors around her head from her warm breath.
All together now.... Siiighh! Now that's something to truly appreciate.
I love that time spent with the family, snuggled in the house watching a favorite Christmas movie and baking or being outside sledding with the cousins knowing there will be hot chocolate and coffee waiting for us at Grandma's house when we all come in rosy-cheeked and drenched from fantastic fun in the snow. Those times seem fewer and farther between due to the kids all getting a little older every year. They would rather hang out with their own friends or their just too bored watching the same Christmas movie every year. It doesn't have to be a sad time, but a time to remember and appreciate the occasions that you did have together. You know that you raised the kids right, with a sense of morals and tradition, so you also know that they will do these same things with their families.
I have a clear glass jar of Christmas tree ornaments sitting on my dresser that was given to me by my sister. Most days I pass it by as I get ready for work or bed. But once in a while it catches my eye and I remember Christmas and other holidays as a child with my family. And every now and then, when my sister and I get together with Mom for coffee, we reminisce about those days and how we love remembering the fresh smell of pine when we finally brought our Christmas tree into the house, and the lights that we used to put on the tree (you know, the big old-fashioned bulbs) and the icicles were always last (and always my favorite part). Mom says that those ornaments that are so near and dear to my sister and I were bought at the Five and Dime. Maybe that's what makes them so special to us. The fact that they were inexpensive ornaments for a family who didn't have excess anything, and the fact that they were so treasured and cared for every year when we unpacked them and then re-packed them up for the next year.
I am thankful beyond words that our parents instilled in us the true value and meaning of family and holidays: being together and appreciating what we do have; that if you really want to, you can find magic in anything. I strive to communicate this secret to my own children and feel sometimes that i may have missed the boat. I need to relax and trust that I have put forth an honorable effort and that some day, my kids will be reminiscing with me about their memories of our family holidays and traditions.
p.s. Mother Nature, bring it on!
