When I was a little girl, I reveled in the enchantment of the holiday season. I remember the taste of buttery sugar cookies with sweet cream frosting, and the rustic aroma of cinnamon, spruce, and pine fresh from the tree in the hall. I remember how my cheeks, when pecked by the cold winter air, glowed rosy and raw, and the tingle of butterflies that danced in my belly on Christmas Eve. The details were small and the moments were ordinary, but to me they were magical. You see, there’s a unique aura of good cheer that resonates this time of year. A time when all things, great and small, seem to come alive.
This holiday season, I want to talk to you about Magic.
Not the wizardry and witchcraft of Harry Potter or the hocus pocus of Halloween, but the magic that exists in the nooks of ordinary life.
My story goes like this . . .
In my bedroom next to my window, there is a stout crystal lamp with a clear globe for a belly. Asymmetrical honeycomb design adds detail and glamour to the globe. My lamp sits quietly atop my desk, on the left, minding its own business. But once per day, about 4:00PM in the early evening, my lamp comes alive.
You see, when the sun sets in the early evening, the sunlight hits the lamp at just the right angle and the honeycombs burst into a rainbow of confetti on the floor and on the walls. Drops of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and violet light sparkle and glitter like a diamond ring, while the rays of the sun bathe the floor in warmth.
I watch as my baby tries to pick up the small rainbow lights and looks confused when his chubby hands can’t grasp anything tangible. He tries again to pick up the light and appears utterly perplexed when he opens his palm. Empty.
His eyes see what his hands can’t touch.
It doesn’t make sense and his look asks me why, but he keeps trying until the rainbow lights fade with the setting sun.
Now sure, I could google the science behind this illusion and explain to him about prisms and dispersion, but I don’t. He’s only 1. Instead, I just soak it in. I soak in the magic my son has found in an ordinary moment and smile as I view the world through his fresh baby eyes.
Our children show us magic because they see it.
They feel it. They live it. They believe it.
The world of logic, reason, political correctness, believe-this-not-that, has yet to taint the beauty of the ordinary for them. I believe this is why childhood is so inherently magical.
This holiday season, I challenge you this: seek to find a bit of magic in ordinary life. No need to hunt, just keep your eyes and your heart open. Watch your children, see what they do. Listen to your children, hear what they say. In the prominent words of Author Roald Dahl, “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
From all of us here at Detroit Moms Blog, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, & a magical New Year!
