I See the Light

Standing in the dark of my yard, staring across the dark of the park next door, I can see above the tree line the Christmas lights of Pedernales Electric Co-Op. They go up every year for Christmas. Every tree in the company’s plaza is covered within an inch of its life with lights. They call it Lights Spectacular. It really is. It draws the crowds, too. If you think moths are attracted to lights you should see the traffic jams in our little town during the month of December when the sun goes down. Those lights bring the people.

At some point this pre-Christmas season, I might make my way over there and take in the lights. It’s only a short walk from my house through the park to get there. Of course, if the crowds are too intense, I’ll just take it in from a distance. There is still a pandemic roaring along, and my days of feeling invincible are long gone. I’ll play it by ear, but there’s nothing like walking into that fairyland and ogling those lights. I especially like the trees with the blue lights. The color is so intense it’s hard to focus on them.

If I do go, it will probably be a weeknight. Lower traffic and all. But it’s a big if and there’s a lot of inertia to overcome. Its been four months since my wife passed, and I mostly just feel like sitting still and letting the emotions of it all percolate through my brain. Actually, this is really nothing new. I’ve always liked sitting still. And she was always the one nudging me along and finding things to do. And generally speaking, it always worked out. So, I’m pretty sure in the next month the spirit will move me, and I’ll walk over and look at the lights.