Ghosts of Christmas

This morning while my Sir sleeps off the excitement of Christmas Eve.. and all the turkey and trimmings....... i had a few minutes to come on line and see what blogs had been updated.. who was doing what.. and read all the heartfelt Christmas wishes........... There are quite a few folks struggling with all this Christmas cheer... who perhaps for one reason or another.. are finding it difficult to find any beauty or joy in this season.............. It reminded me a little bit of the week i have just put in at work............... the mad week before Christmas where some of the kiddies dreading the upcoming holidays fly off the handle for mostly imagined infractions.. where other kiddies just feel incredible deep soul wrenching sadness... and i realized this morning............. that children grow up.. and bring with them the sadness or the joy of their childhood with them... (yeah yeah.. i know that IS a "duhh" moment!!)

i have sat here remembering some of my less than joyous Christmases............ the one Christmas i virtually celebrated alone.. the outcast from the family............ the adjustments i have made to accomodate the shifts in tide.. and to prevent my soul from hurting too much..

We celebrated Christmas yesterday.. here at the house.. Sir.. my youngest daughter and her "fiancée" ... a friend of theirs.. my grandson.. and my eldest daughter... there were gifts under the tree for everyone.. and the table groaned with all the food that covered it... There was much laughter and joy.. (and yeah yeah much sneezing as eldest daughter managed to pick up a nasty cold).. It was noisy and raucous but the important thing.. everyone got along.. and had fun........

My grandson and i slipped away for a few minutes ... getting lost in all that noise... and disappeared upstairs to the 'office' where "granny" tried to explain about NORAD and satellites.. and how these army men tracked airplanes.. but tonite they got to track Santa ... we loaded up the website.. and the lil guy sat patiently while it loaded.. and then blip there HE was the man of the hour.. caught on radar.. the wonder in the lil guy's eyes made my heart soar... just the two of us .. in a quiet darkened office.. staring at a screen and i was marvelling at the magic of Christmas revealed in that quiet darkened room.......

my wish for one and all is that you too can find some quiet magic at this time of year... some inner calm and peace that will carry you all through the upcoming year..............