When we were young, my mom would take my sister and I to the “rich” part of town and tour others’ christmas lighting. We loved fantasizing, imagining living in the grand homes free from the financial worries of being in a struggling, single parent home. We carried this tradition after the marriage of my parents and the comfortability of middleclassdom. I was fortunate enough to have a car throughout high school and one snowy evening during christmas break, decided to take my little sister out to tour the lights. First stopping at Caribou for some mochas and cocoa, we headed to the Kenwood area where the owners of the largest homes in Minneapolis hired their outdoor decorating and the entire neighborhood was a winter wonderland. That evening was one of my favorite memories with my sister. Listening to a ‘Randy Travis Christmas’, driving in a warm car through magnificent streets with snow sprinkling the windshield lightly. Good drinks, good sights, good company.

On the way home it began to snow harder and the roads became slick with black ice. Tensely gripping the steering wheel my mood immediately turned to fear and worry, snapping at Faydra to be quiet so I could concentrate on the road. We made it home safely but the night was tainted with my black mood. Isn’t it crazy that when the road becomes challenging, we shift our concentration and it is we, not our circumstances, that ruin our experiences? This season, do not fret over fear and worry or morbid reflection. Embrace the lights. Turn up the music. Have Faith. And all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.