Christmas is nothing if not a big ball ‘o sparkly, shiny, sappy awesomeness. Unless you’re completely alone this time of year in which case…it’s more like a small nugget of potential sparkly, shiny, sappy awesomeness. Which may be the best kind of sparkliness there is, let’s be honest.
I do tend to get my hopes high at Christmas time. Or any time really but the big pressure is at Christmas. I’m trying to let it go. Let it go….let it gooooooooo. Letting it gooooo is really haaaarrrddd…..
I’m experimenting, trying to see what would happen if I held my ideal of the perfect Christmas in my head, gave it a little mental hug, cozy down in it for a minute, then…let it go. Totally letting go of my expectations of what this holiday should be. I’m letting it float up, up, up and away like a big, bright yellow balloon. As Ellie says…bye bye….
What if we all took a good look around at our imperfect houses and imperfect families and looked for all the bright sparkly bits around us, right here, right now?
Well, I’m glad you asked. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are some of Ange’s Bright Sparkly Bits for 2015 and forever, really:
- That first sip of hot tea on a cold December morning
- Christmas music playing on my IPOD
- The rattle of dishes being put away as mom empties the dishwasher for me
- The clink of toys in Ellie’s playroom as Bill helps her build a tower of blocks
- The warm glow of Christmas lights all around the house (Sure I wish my tree didn’t look like a Charlie Brown Runner-Up)…but that’s not a Bright Sparkly Bit. Nothing I want, nothing I wish, nothing I had are Bright Sparkly Bits. Only what I have right here, right now can qualify as a Bright Sparkly Bit.
So. The warm glow of Christmas lights I have scattered all around the house? Sparkly Bit.
Ellie in a good mood and singing? Sparkly Bit.
Me and everyone I love healthy and happy? Sparkly Bit.
Toby’s wet kisses? Sparkly. Leftover apple pie for breakfast? Sparkly. Presents under the tree? Sparkly, sparkly, sparkly!
SPARKLY BITS! So don’t just take a look at MY sparkly bits, take a good look at some of your own. Jeepers.
Write ‘em down even. Throw them in a drawer. A few weeks, or a few months later you will stumble across it and by that time you will have forgotten that Aunt Ida asked if you were six months pregnant (and you just lost ten pounds) and the dog ate part of the turkey (and you cut it off and didn’t tell anyone) and you DID eat that whole bag of Godiva chocolates in a stress-induced eating frenzy…you WILL remember with fondness the Sparkly Bits. (Aunt Ida slipped on a banana peel). (Your teenaged daughter looked up from her phone long enough to make eye contact and smile after she opened her first present). These are the things we should be focusing on.
And if you are having a hard time finding those Sparkly Bits just remember, there’s always leftover apple pie for breakfast.
Angela Yeh - Fantasy Author. Dragon Enthusiast. Optimist. 