Every Christmas I subject myself to a multitude of romantic Christmas movies which leave me yearning for the picture-perfect holiday. Yes, I know we should not fantasize our life be like the idyllic scenes from a movie. However, when holidays are an annual reminder of how you have not lived up to the expectations of family, it is nice to dream.
It is magical to dream of walking through a well-lit city on a cold winter’s night. Walking hand in hand with the one I love, I dream of being surrounded by the soft glow of Christmas lights. Suddenly, snow begins to fall softly from the starry sky. As we continue to walk, we find ourselves standing next to a beautifully decorated tree. We look to the stars and make a wish and then gaze into each other’s eyes as we lean in to kiss. It is the most perfect kiss imaginable because it is filled with the magic of Christmas. Upon returning home we cuddle beneath blankets and find warmth in a glass of wine in a room aglow with soft white Christmas lights. There is comfort in the silence and the beat of our hearts, together.
I am not sure where this dream began or how long the image will remain with me. This time of year, for me, has never been about things beneath the tree. It has always been about the magical Christmas love in the air. I know it really exists and is not just something I have watched in a movie. I know this because I have seen it, I know it is out there. That magical Christmas love. Perhaps I romanticize it a bit, it is a dream after all.
Until the day when my dream comes true, I will watch the lights on my pre-lit Christmas tree burn out one section at a time. I will drive around neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights with my dearest friends. My ears will be blessed with the sounds of Christmas as I listen to my niece at her band recital. Christmas does not always show up as we imagine it to be, but we can still find the spirit and magic of the season in different ways.
Life won’t always work out as we expect it to, sparkle anyway.
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