Lights

"We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light a candle that can 

guide us through the darkness to a safe and sane future." 

- John F. Kennedy

At Christmas time, I normally channel my inner Buddy the Elf who just wants to deck the heck out of every inch of my halls with delicious holiday decor. 

But this year, more than ever before, I needed something different.

Peace

Order

Serenity

Calm

I wanted my home to reflect my heart's desire for a simple, tranquil, minimally cluttery holiday. So I left 99.9% of my usual holiday swag in storage and I focused on light. 

^ With my daughters' help, I swept aside as much of the everyday clutter as humanly possible, and tossed out strings of lights here, there and everywhere. 

Spilling off rows of books, 

^ Hanging from door and window frames,

^ Cascading through the greenery,

^ Twinkling along the counter tops, 

^ Whispering out into the night sky.

On Christmases to come, it's a good bet that I will revert to form, dragging out my boxes of snowflakes and garlands and paper chains and tinsel, and gracing the house with glittery goodness.

And that will be fun too.

But for this year, I'm perfectly content with the lights.