Christmas in the air

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Oh, a few days ago, I wasn’t feeling the Christmas Spirit. The calendar told me it was early December, but I didn’t care much about giving or other’s feelings or well-being. For the lack of a better word, I was a grump.

I was far from being Ebenezer Scrooge at his nastiest. I wasn’t mean or angry to anyone’s face, but I wasn’t feeling the season either.

On the surface, everything was fine. I helped my wife put up some decorations. I’ve just been busy and wasn’t feeling all that festive. To top it off, I was missing my family.

To overcome the “ugh-isms,” — my word for life’s nagging struggles and inconveniences — my wife and I planned a trip to Longwood Gardens, a large 1,100 acre arboretum in Southeastern Pennsylvania that includes gardens, woodlands, meadows, fountains, and a conservatory.

December is an especially busy time for Longwood. The gardens displays more than half a million Christmas lights on 124 trees and attracts more than 500,000 visitors during the holiday season.

We chose a cold night to attend, but it was just what the doctor ordered! As we walked to our car for the ride home, I found myself thinking of Charles Dickens’ famous words:

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

Yes, yes, throw in a little Tiny Tim for good measure. “God bless us, every one!”

“There’s a certain magic that comes with the very first snow. For when the first snow is also a Christmas snow, well, something wonderful is bound to happen.” —Frosty the Snowman.

“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.” —Janice Maeditere

“Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.” —Ruth Carter Stapleton

“Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.” —Dr. Seuss

“We are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” —Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.” —Dale Evans

“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” – Chris Van Allsburg (from Polar Express)

“I don’t think Christmas is necessarily about things. It’s about being good to one another.” —Carrie Fisher

“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future.” – Agnes M. Pahro

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46 thoughts on “Christmas in the air”

  1. Thank you for the wonderful photos and sentiments. I’m not in the spirit yet and, spending the day at home alone, I don’t suspect to get suddenly hit with the spirit. I’ll light a candle atop of my Tastykake of choice, sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus (my annual tradition) and I’ll have celebrated the remembrance of the reason even if I do nothing else…

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  2. Great photos! I find it difficult to both capture Christmas lights and faces in the same picture. Thank you for sharing glimpses of your fun. I can see why the Christmas spirit was contagious there. 🎄

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  3. Wow! Longwood is spectacular. Thanks for sharing photos. I think a lot of us are blah (even blue) about Christmas this year, due to the election. I’m visiting a similar place in MA on Friday to see beautiful lights. I hope it has the same effect on me.

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    1. Yes, it was great to put the news away, and enjoy our time together. I hope your visit Friday helps raise your spirits. I could be a little naive here … but I keep coming back to the basics. Yes, times may be hard and our leaders out for themselves, but there’s still good in the world. We just have to look harder for it. It’s not pretty but that has helped me in pulling back from over reacting to every little bit of news I see or hear. Hope you find the Christmas spirit!!!

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  4. What a wonderful way to spend the evening! And nothing wrong with not being in the Christmas spirit at a precise time. It’s when you are ready that is the perfect time 😉

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    1. Yes, it was good to get out. I did have to laugh . . . a few days earlier, a friend went and while I don’t think he wore shorts, the temps were mild. We go and it felt like a blizzard was coming through at any moment. I guess it made it feel more Santa-like. Ha, ha.

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  8. What a lovely post, Brian. I’m a Christmas grinch most years and can’t wait until January, but you gave me a prescription for finding the season’s beauty – get out there and look for it. Beautiful quotes. Lauren sent me your way and I’m glad she did. 🙂

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    1. Oh, thanks for stopping by. I’m not sure I’m the best about describing my blog . . . I write about what’s going on in my crazy life and I try to find the humor (and sarcasm) where I can. My thought is that life is too hard/short/annoying not to laugh, cry, and think each day. (I stole that line from the late basketball coach Jim Valvano.) Anyway, Longwood was great. It definitely helped push back my scrooge tendencies and see the good of the season. Good luck with your own journey. There’s good things out there, you just got to look for them!!!! 😎😎😎

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    1. All we needed was snow. It felt like it was coming. Ha, ha. The funny side of it is that when I’ve shared a few of the pics with friends/coworkers, everyone keeps asking about the plants and types of trees. Um, d’oh, I just take the pics, I know nothing about the actual names of everything. C’mon what do they expect of me??? Ha, ha. 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

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  10. Your photos are magical, Brian, and I love the word “ugh-isms” – sounds like it belongs in Harry Potter. 🙂 Longwood is a place my husband and I would enjoy. Thanks for instilling the spirit of the season. By the way, I’m not sure if my links are working, but I linked you in my post today. 🙂 Wishing you and your family a magical holiday season! 🎅🏻🎄

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    1. I got out of a meeting a little bit ago and what a great surprise to see this note. First off, thanks so much for the shout out on your piece today. It’s fabulous. Love reading all the different things that made your list. Lots of similarities and differences. “Carrot cake. Did you know it counts as a vegetable?” Yes, yes, yes, I said that at T-giving and I got a bunch of strange looks. C’mon people, if I’m eating a carrot for desert, it better count as a vegetable. We don’t need to tell anyone about the decadent icing. And of course, Copper, glad to see that he got his rightful credit. Such a beautiful dog. Yes, Longwood was lots of fun. After t-giving I was missing our kids. The news was getting me a little down too. It just seemed to hit especially hard. It was great to have a date-night with all the lights and brisk cold air and think about past memories and great memories to come. Finally, congrats on the launch of your book. I just put in my order. A curious fawn? Of course, I gotta know how this ends. Ha, ha, thanks again Lauren!!!!! 😎😎😎😎😎😎

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      1. You’re welcome, Brian! I meant to post sooner, but I was working on the list while promoting my book and planning other blog posts. And now I realized that I forgot some important things or places, to be exact. So, I’m going to go over 100! LOL Okay, let’s talk carrot cake. It does count as a vegetable because the magnet on my fridge says so! 😂😂 Aww, Copper appreciates your kind words. And this past T-giving was our first with just the 2 of us. We enjoyed an hour-long Google meet with the kids and had a good day even though we missed them. Longwood looks so magical. I wish we had a place like that around here. And oh, thank you so much for buying a copy of my book. Cora’s tale is short and sweet, and hopefully, a charming one for you. It was a great collaboration with my nephew who illustrated the book. Anyway, thank you SO much! And you are SO welcome! 😁😁😁😁😁

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      2. Your first T-giving with just the two of you. Oh, wow, I see that coming, but we haven’t had that one yet. It’s coming though. Yea, Longwood is nice, but I could be wrong, but you got the Redwoods nearby, right? My wife and son got to see them last year . . . they look amazing. Our trees here look like toothpicks in comparison. Ha, ha. Have a great week!

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  13. Thanks so much for sharing these great photos. Longwood is an amazing place and the trees are spectacular. I hope that after that trip you’re well and truly in the Christmas spirit. Merry Christmas 🎄!

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  15. Beautiful lights and photos, Brian! A good way to get into the spirit and a good reminder of what matters the most during the holidays, as Carrie Fisher noted. 💕

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    1. Of course, Princess Leia knows exactly what to say. When I went searching for christmas quotes, I knew I would find a few Dickens and Dr. Seuss ones. It did make me laugh that one of the ones I loved the most came from Carrie. Not who you might expect. Ha, ha.

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    1. “And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say – that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!” You go Grinch. Ha ha.

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  17. Pingback: Winterlights | 50 Happens

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