Peace, Love and Happiness

The warmth of the fireplace, the snow flurries, the beginning of the holiday season. Okay let's be real it's those darn stores pushing the holidays. Though I don't mind celebrating the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas a little longer than norm. But I am pretty sure most people have forgotten what celebrating the holidays is really all about. I guess if you have  never experienced the peace, love and happiness that comes with traditional holidays, you  wouldn't know what you are missing. The baking of cookies, the family time , the time to be extra grateful for those in our lives. I try not to be sad as I said goodbye to the last of my siblings. I still pick up the phone and dial her number. Maybe sometimes you have to cry to properly mourn. Kind of away to turn the page. But I find myself looking back at the last of our holidays together. My sister said " Everything is so lovely you make a wonderful hostess and the food is so good" I smiled as I knew in my heart it would be the last holiday we would have together.
 Next my memories drifted even further back to childhood. It is amazing how vivid and very clear memories are retained in the mind. There are  many that I keep locked away to only visit with the positive memories that shape our lives. It comes with a mixed array of emotions. That child in us never dies as it continues to need nourishment , comfort and a sense of security. Like many families the Christmas tree was a necessary part of the holidays. I can almost smell the fresh pine and feel the prick of needles as we placed decorations upon the tree. The memories bring all the years together like a collage that swirls in motion in my mind. From the child who prayed for peace, love and happiness, to the woman who now understands that we are the creator of our own peace, love and happiness.
I remember my youngest sister and I running down the steps to find a piano next to the tree. Anxious  to make music we both sat on the bench and tinkered with the keys. Pages of a book, unique to the individual, creating chapters locked in the heart and mind. I close my eyes and  I can see the lights of many colors in the old fashion large bulbs that were common at the time. The garland that was used year after year and slightly weathered from the packing and unpacking. The fragile ornaments that seemed so special. Like the angel in a blue gown , as if we had mental telepathy and she knew what was on our minds.
Then there is the people who enter and exit our lives. Those who we long to share another day or moment and those which we can only share in our minds through our memories. It is almost as if we are saying goodbye all over again. No sadness they remain in our hearts as we carry their laughter and joy , trials and triumphs throughout our life.
My children all grown and on their own no longer go to the tree farm to ride the tractor cart trying to find that perfect tree. I now have a artificial tree that stays up all year and at the holidays I light it. It is as if I'm trying to hold on to that magic all year round. Maybe not, maybe it is a beginning to and end of another chapter.
Reaching out to you with wishes for a holiday season filled with Peace, Love and Happiness to last the year long. May the memories from this year have that special feeling that makes a difference in your life , like the memories you have given me that have enriched my own life.