The Sweet Bit
They’re stringing the lights in the trees at the courtyard of the headquarters of the Pedernales Electric Co-op. They’ll also string lights on the courthouse and all the shops around the square and then on Thanksgiving weekend they’ll shoot off fireworks and turn everything on. It will be the start of the holiday season, leading up to Christmas. It’s really quite a show.
I participate in my own small way by lighting up my house as best I can. Civic pride and all that. I skipped last year. Both spirit and flesh were weak after the loss of my wife in August. But I’m back in the game this year. It’s still a bit of a mystery as to how I’ll do it now that vines cover most of my front fences, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something. I didn’t spend all those years in suburban America for nothing. If I know anything, I know how to light a house for Christmas.
Lights and love seem a good balm for a wounded soul as does the laughter of children and we’ve got little ones in the family once again. Good timing, I’d say. We walked under the lighted trees last year, masks and all, bought hot chocolate, and had a good time. We’ll do it again this year. Children are the sweet bit about Christmas, and even when they get old, they’re still children, and having them in the house is a delight. And just thinking about it right now makes me happy, and just a teeny bit weepy.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale