I hope your holiday was lovely, filled with bonding and growing those relationships that truly add meaning to our lives. Ours was spent in one of my favorite NW cities: Bellingham. Since the day was spent with family, we didn’t get to any of my favorite shops or eateries, but I was prepared. The weather was blessedly calm, and traffic rather lite, so the drive was uneventful. Having the Stillaguamish bridge back open was particularly nice.
Over the past week, I’ve noticed several neighbors with Christmas lights up. Add to that Christmas marketing already going, and I find I’m struggling with acceptance. I grudgingly tolerate the Christmas season starting today, the day after Thanksgiving. There’s only so much resisting one can do.
But I still can advocate for Advent, the season of preparation for the coming of the Christ. Preparation, awareness, anticipation; all these elements get lost in the commercial madness that’s modern Christmas. Perhaps it’s intertwined with our overall impatience, or just our inability to filter out marketing.
So, I’m a bit pleased to see the rain, which seems to have built up with it’s delayed delivery. Maybe we’ll have another day or so without the frenetic lights, et al, of Christmas blazing. Of course, this will probably make the malls that much more desirable. So be it, makes the rest of the region that much more accessible to me. So it begins, I guess. For me, it’s clearly a good day to get some coffee, avoiding the roads near the malls.
Wishing you a safe holiday season filled with light, delight and warmth.
