Looking Ahead
Ah, suburbia. Home to extravagant Christmas light displays. I love it. I’m in Houston, staying with my oldest son in preparation for the wedding of his uncle this evening. Last night I ventured out to the drugstore and was knocked over by the Christmas lights in his neighborhood. I forgot how all in so many people go to light up their houses for Santa Claus and the baby Jesus.
I remember the days of my youth when we’d bundle the kids in the car and drive around to various neighborhoods to see the lights. All part of the holiday festivities. Now I just walk through the park to see the lights in my very own hometown. Maybe next year I’ll tour Texas a bit more to see the other lights, because I was in New Braunfels the other night and the courthouse was spectacular, and I know Fredericksburg goes all in as well.
I imagine I could even get some friends to go with me. We could probably rent one of those wine tour busses to take us around. That would be cool. No driving. Just oh’s and ah’s over the lights as we eat and drink and look out the windows, kids again in our parent’s car. Now that sounds like some real fun. I imagine the driver would even stop and let us walk around and that would be fun, too. And, pow, I take another step in the grief process and get excited about the future, and it seems a good thing, although in the back of my mind, I’m still thinking how much my wife would have enjoyed the trip, but that’s just part of the deal now, and I’m good with that.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale