Originally published December 21, 2013
A strange statement from a person who lived in Calgary, Alberta for five years. There, snow was magic for the first, oh, two hours and mostly on a weekend. Most of the time it was inconvenient, annoying, even dangerous. I remember one “first of the season” storm when I was still riding the bus. I walked in my front door around 1:30 in the morning. Nope, not all that magical. But, sometimes, Snow is Magic.
The holidays can be a bit odd around my home. My husband’s dementia requires that I maintain routine as much as possible to reduce confusion and disruption. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Christmas. I love finding interesting and needful things for the people in my circle. I even have a pile of Christmas cards somewhere in this office that should find their way to the postal service in the next few days. But that is all “somewhere else.” Here inside our home things are very quiet. That is, until it snowed.
We now live in the Pacific Northwest. It doesn’t snow all that much here. In fact, we can go a whole winter without seeing so much as a flake. I haven’t missed it, as you can imagine, until it snowed.
Friday morning, as it became light enough to see outside, I realized that we had received enough snow for it to stick. Everywhere. And suddenly the magic of the season invaded my heart, my mind, my home. I’m ready to put up our twinkling little tree and work through a menu that I know my husband will eat even though Rock Cornish Hens and some of the other sauce-covered dishes would go untouched. I always get him something for Christmas, some small thing that does not disrupt his sense of what is his. He doesn’t do all that well with new anything. However Einstein is his superhero so Einstein calendars are always a hit (even if time is something that is beyond his grasp). Sometimes we find there is a way to touch the past, as we did during that brief, bright moment last year.
Our street exhibits a number of light shows. One of the nights I had to drive him around the block so he could “come home” he remarked on all the commotion. I mentioned that it was Christmas and some people liked to celebrate by decorating their homes. Teaching the unteachable, learning not to blame or frustrate, finding peace in little things. That is what the season is about, right? Finding peace?
So, you see, holidays usually march their quiet way through our lives, noticed but not necessarily absorbed in every aspect. But, then it snowed. And the magic filled our home.
I have a tradition this time of year, to spend time thinking on the ways that I can make the world a slightly better place, in some small way. You might want to check out some previous posts. One quotes one of the most enduring statements of “things desired,: the Desiderata, one talks about the wasy we can help others by spreading a bit of magic into their lives.
Have a Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule and solstice, (belated) Hanukah, Boxing Day and New Year. Wherever and whatever you celebrate remember to look for the magic. And pass it around. Yes, Snow is Magic.
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