Skimming Across the Snow Like a Rocket

And now the lull begins - the time between the hubbub of Christmas and the countdown to the new year. 

When I was young this week had a dreamy feel to it: no school, a dormant alarm clock, a fresh stock of toys to be played with and random desserts sitting on the counter to grab at my whim. At least for me, this time had a surreal, magical quality. And, we always had a mountain of snow to throw ourselves into once our toys lost their luster.

I remember spending many an evening buried under a snowsuit, a pair of moon boots, two scarves and mittens frozen hard into the shape of hands, while my brother pulled me around our snow covered cherry orchard on an old Arctic Cat snowmobile. I sat on a saucer sled attached by a long rope to the back of his snowmobile. I remember looking up and seeing the stars shining brightly in the night sky. With no time restrictions, we could have stayed out all night. We never did. Instead, my hands would ache after awhile and the scarf that hugged my face would become soaked from a drippy nose. After one too many tumbles I would drag myself back into the house, drop the snow garb onto the floor and thaw by the fireplace. Those moments felt like magic to me as a kid.

As I look out the window this morning, I see only random blotches of white; mostly brown weeds cover the ground. Its been awhile since my kids played in a winter wonderland during Christmas break. 

I remember the first time I had to go to work on the day after Christmas. It felt much like the day I learned there was no Santa Claus. The magic of the season diminished greatly for me that day while processing the same old paperwork I processed every other day. I didn’t feel festive. Instead, it could have been a day swapped with any other - as it felt the same. As we age we realize that the wheels of business take only a momentary pause during Christmas; by the Monday following they are rolling once again.

Like aging, some process the lessening magic of the holiday season with grace, some with resistance. It will never again be what it was when we were kids, and quite frankly, the magic our kids feel isn’t anything like what we felt when we were young. Things change, the world changes, we change. With fascination I sit back and watch how the world moves forward, with every year things change dramatically. With every year, I notice myself making a few changes as well - some welcomed, some not so much. 

As we stand in these final days before we, as a whole, jump forward into a new year, I wonder what it will bring for each of us and what it will bring for our world. I try to picture what I want it to bring for me, and trust that it will be so. For all of us, may 2012 bring with it the manifestation of many a dream, the conclusion to many a nightmare and miracles to those in need.

Sane