A BIT of background before I tell my Christmas story. I mailed the following letter to my friend Mike T in his wintry abode in New Hampshire, USA, to make him envious of our warm December days. In his spare time, Mike is an extraordinary photographer who captures the changing of the seasons in his home state, New Hampshire, and other states like Utah. He also goes to places as faraway as India and the Philippines to capture shots of wildlife and human life, sometimes with a wry sense of humor. The latest picture he sent me was captioned “The river where I live, in winter,” but I could see no river, everything was frozen, white, hard snow, unrelentingly winter.
Dear Mike,
At last, a few words from you to pick me up during the Christmas rush around here! Are you in NH for a vacation?
It’s been a while and a long lull since I last heard from you. The world has changed so much and time has sped by so fast that I catch myself wishing at times that my grandchildren could somehow experience the same sweetness of youth that I felt during my time – when I was young, that is. Because the earth spins so dizzyingly fast, it means we are growing old faster. Is that all there is to it, Mike? Ha ha, I have eight grandchildren to remind me.
I wish you a great and wonderful white Christmas (as if you didn’t have it already), as I also wish you could delight in our technicolored Christmas! I’ve just returned from the old university (408 years) of my youth to show off the beautifully decorated campus to my son. A towering Christmas tree lighted in a unique palette of gold, blue, and lavender. The chapel turned into a Nativity scene, the Holy Family in life size occupying pride of place on the altar. Multicolored lights dripping from every tree on the football field, along the streets and on every corner. Lights so lavish they look like colored water dancing around a fountain.
May Christmas fulfill your fondest dreams, Mike, and based on what little I know of you I think your wishes will be as simple as mine: peace and quiet when we seek it, time to be lazy when we deserve it, love and laughter all the time, all around, just because. . . A Happy New Year, too!
And the same to our readers.
