Christmas Lights

Sigh. I hate slow mornings. My poor body has been plagued by swollen glands, joint aches, tiredness for the last few days. All part of the game, this irritating piece that flares up now and again. I am moving s-l-o-w-l-y. Mornings like this are an exercise in resurrecting dead limbs and resuscitating sluggish systems. More often than not it means I just don't have my act together and I will leave the house slightly late and without having prepared to meet the needs of the day. In this case, no breakfast or lunch.

Forgoing breakfast isn't all that big a deal. I am nauseous anyways, so skipping my usual half a banana, half a cup of fruited yogurt and half a cup of carefully selected low fiber dry cereal is no big deal. But by the time I got to lunch, I was definitely ready for something more than the cup of ginger tea I had sipped throughout the morning. Time for a trip to Timmy's. They have pretty good soup there, and today the chicken noodle felt comfortable, especially with the crumbled crackers floating about offering an extra dose of salt. The warmth alone was worth the trip.

I rarely ever eat in restaurants over lunch, preferring to huddle over substance intake in my office while weeding through emails. Today, I need to be in an unstressful environment, so I take my tray to an isolated table in the far corner where the sun shines through the window, and sit with my back to the world, lingering over the nourishment and allowing myself the luxury of not thinking, just relaxing. It feels good. The warm sun caresses my hair (what little there is of it) and with my tummy full of warm soup, I doze a bit, leaning against the wall.

Strength is returning, this spell will pass in a bit (they have their own time frames, these physical drain days). Somewhat rejuvenated, I sling my purse over my shoulder, empty my tray and head for the car. I know I can manage the afternoon better than the morning. But I will be glad when the day ends and I can go home. I slide behind the wheel of my wonderful little Malibu and pull onto Buffalo Road.

I pass Family Video and Jitters as I head back to the library. Suddenly, I see the employees of the landscaping business huddled around a bush STRINGING CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!! No way! I can't believe it! Its enough to jolt you wide awake, chicken soup notwithstanding. Sure enough, they are wrapping each perfect bush in a covering of white lights, plugging each one in to make sure it works. For one brief moment I am shocked.

But as I wait to turn onto Orchard Street, I smile at the twinkling lights holding out their promise of good times to come, of important family togetherness, of pleasant surprises and good friends and caroling music and, yes, even snow. It will come whether we begin in October or on December 24th. It will come every year until the end of time. Its a good sign. Don't think about your tired aching body today. Think about making this a year of excellent holiday celebrations. Its been a good year. Think about that. Yes. Think about that.