Shine

When decorating for Christmas I tend to prefer jewel toned baubles with a vintage feel.

But this is 2020, the year of COVID-19 and business closures and layoffs. Of murder hornets, UFO sightings, asteroids heading for earth, fires, floods, and food lines. Surprisingly, my 2020 tipping point came recently when the neighbor’s landscaping crew caused my carefully hung patio lights to come crashing down, no more to gently glow from dusk to dawn. You’d think that my very soul had been extinguished based on my reaction. I was utterly downcast. And then angry. It seemed a travesty ~ as though all the twinkling fairy lights in all the world had collectively been snuffed out by one careless act. Strangely, of all things going on in 2020, this was the soul crushing blow.

In reality? Only a handful of bulbs had been shattered. Nothing a trip to Home Depot and an 8’ ladder couldn’t fix but nooooo. Nothing felt the same. The emergency supply of pixie dust had been depleted. The emotional cupboards were bare.

After a handful of days spent in figurative mourning a mental light switched on . . . there were boxes of unused Christmas lights and decorations in the garage that were destined for donation to the nearby thrift store. Stuff that somebody else might use to bring some holiday cheer but not me. But then, by golly, I channeled my inner Griswold Christmas self and got out the snowflakes, candy canes and jaunty inflatable polar bear. Here are the shameless results (volume up!) 2020 did not get the best of me, I got the best of it!

To be clear, a few broken bulbs are NOTHING in comparison to the loss of hope and dreams and health and life. My intention in sharing this is not to make light of what a challenging year this has been for all of us.

I just want to say that in the darkened world of 2020, shine a light where you can. Anywhere to anyone. We all need it and we are all in this together.