Blink and you’ll miss it

This is one of my favorite holiday posts from last year.  I’m re-posting to get myself in the holiday spirit. 

***

After a hard weekend of house painting and chores, Sunday night I proclaim that we will be doing something FESTIVE and fun.

One of the newer malls in downtown Seattle boasts holiday festivities every evening. Perfect.

We pile into the car (me, Jay, CJ, and my sister) and head for downtown. A few minutes later, we’re there.

We find a parking spot and file into the shopping center where the sounds of Christmas music and the sight of GIANT NUTCRACKERS greet us with holiday cheer.

People are everywhere, hurrying and scurrying between Tiffany and Barnes & Noble, weighed down by massive bags, their faces tense and their eyes glazed over.

Thankfully we are not here to shop.

We wander aimlessly until we reach the atrium. High school girls are singing Christmas carols from a makeshift stage while people hurry by. CJ plops down on the floor in front of them to listen. We sit down beside him.

Several minutes go by, and I am surprised that CJ seems content to just sit here, his head propped against my arm, a far-off look in his eyes.

Slowly, I feel my mind quiet. The other shoppers, the noise and the hurry, all these things melt away until it’s just me and the warm spot where CJ presses against me and the singers.

I look at these girls singing so passionately; I notice their pink cheeks and their carefully combed hair, and I’m overwhelmed by a feeling of tenderness. As they carefully climb on and off the stage for their solo’s, one minute they seem so grown-up and self-assured, the next minute they’re painfully young and awkward.

They sway from side to side and smile self-consciously and seem to really be enjoying themselves. They look beautiful.

A tall slim girl with red hair and a black velvet dress begins Silent Night. Her voice is sure and her eyes dreamy. I think I love the song even more because her singing isn’t perfect.

As I sit here, I’m struck by how many people are missing this. From my seat on the cool marble, it’s the best show of the night. But from the vantage point of a harried shopper, it doesn’t even merit a pause.

It’s moments like these that can make this the most wonderful time of the year.

The smells and sounds and sparkling lights and being with those you love best…

THIS is Christmas.

If you’re not careful, you’ll miss it.

***

Have a wonderful Christmas… or whatever holiday you celebrate… and may you have many beautiful moments to warm you.

~Jen

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