Counting Down the Days....

I watch the snowflakes tumble down, as if they are racing to the pile that lies beneath. The kids are watching too and they are elated. I can see the visions of sled rides and snow forts dancing in their heads. We are in the midst of a two-day blizzard. A classic Minnesota December, the white Christmas awaits.
Relatives have been obsessing since November over the perfect Christmas gift for great grandpa - the 80 year old, flannel-wearing man who would be more content with a 12 pack of Milwaukee's Best than all the oil in Texas. All my facebook friends are complaining about the intense traffic at the mall or gossiping about their husbands' inability to get the lights hung on the house in time. Everyone looks tired and no one is smiling, but all the while everyone says the same thing, "Don'tchya just love the Holidays!?!"
I think Jesus was righteous, the perfect lion and lamb rolled into one. But when I feel like celebrating all that is Holy, shopping at the mall doesn't come into my consciousness. I turn inwards to the spirit, to the laughter of my children, to a place in the Caribbean where the Sea meets the Sky in radiating beauty. I give thanks and begin to preen my feathers. I spread my wings and take flight.
So as Christmas approaches, I too have my countdown in place. But when I cross the last day off my list, there will be no last minute wrapping of gifts or baking of pies. It will just be me, my kids, and four months of inspiring adventure on the beaches of the Caribbean Sea.
14 days and counting....