Saturday, December 12, 2009

Festival of Lights




     A couple of days ago, actually the same day as the great Griswaldian Christmas light fiasco that I spoke about yesterday, we went to enjoy The Festival of Lights.  They do this every year at The Mission Inn, not far from where we live.  This place holds a special place in our hearts for a few reasons.  My wife and I stayed in the historic inn on our wedding night before flying off the next morning to go on our honeymoon.  The Christmas light display that they manage to improve upon every year is truly a sight to behold.  And this year, our 8 year old daughter had a chance to be a part of the festivities with her school choir. 


     There was a chill in the air, a chill by Californian standards anyhow.  For those of you who actually get to experience the seasons and changes in climate and color of leaves, you can understand why we would be excited to pretend that winter was upon us.  We didn't have to shovel snow or de-ice anything.  I didn't have to put chains on my truck tires (thank God, because I don't have chains), but we did bring our jackets and I did duck into a gift shop to buy a beenie to keep my head warm.  Talk about being at the right place at the right time.  It was the beenie that  I have pictured in my mind for a long time as being the perfect one for me.  The right stripes, the right style, the right colors, and only $7.  Glorious!  I think I said it out loud, startling the girl behind the counter who hadn't noticed that I had ever even entered the store. 

     So there we were, celebrating our faux winter, listening to 3rd graders rocking to modern Christmas tunes, and taking in the spirit of the holiday season.  It was perfect.  We had such a good time as a family, doing what families do, regular families, Norman Rockwell families, families from the 50's who weren't in such a damn hurry all the time and actually took the time to enjoy themselves. 


    
     The "funk" that I have mentioned being in recently has suddenly vanished.  I find myself in the mood that I have been trying to find for some weeks and it feels good. 

     It's funny and actually pretty amazing what 4 Christmas songs, a good $7 beenie, just hanging with family and 50 gazillion lights can do for a guy's outlook on things. 

     Hello Christmas Spirit.......Where the Hell have you been?!......Happy Holidays my friends.
    


       

     

8 comments:

  1. sorry I missed it. Never been to the ceremony down there. G

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  2. Just in time for Christmas! So happy you're in better spirits.

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  3. You're a man of simple tastes. I like that.
    All it takes is a $7 beenie?
    Perfect!

    Now where can I find one...?
    :-)

    Happy Holidays to you too!

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  4. That would bring it on for me too!

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  5. Yay! I'm glad you found your Christmas Spirit in time for Christmas. And the beenie. : )

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  6. Now that is what the holiday is all about!

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  7. Wow! I would love to see that. The little kid in me that loves Christmas Lights still lives on. We have some pretty spectacular lights here, but nothing like that.

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  8. Good for that beenie, for being in the right place at the right time.

    I would have loved to see all them lights!

    Glad you found you Christmas spirit!

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