Catching up with the holiday madness..

How the Grinch TRIED to steal Christmas

The few days before Christmas were spent cleaning and dusting.
Trying to prepare the house for the 20 people; coming over for Christmas lunch.
There was a Christmas tree, with the presents waiting underneath.
The weeds in the garden had been trimmed.
And the pool was nearly clean.
It was looking like everything was finally coming together.
Like the weeks of stressing and planning had paid off.
Mesmerized by the lights on Christmas Eve, it had felt like nothing could possibly go
wrong…

Oh, boy was I mistaken! 

A few hours till Christmas and the toilet won’t flush!
The water tank is… full?
The water pump, however… has decided that this would be the time to stop pumping. 

After hours of smacking the pipes, turning switches on and then off, brain storming, more smacking, testing all the taps and double checking the water tanks, we went to bed, with our heads down, our cheer destroyed and minds filled with disbelief.
We went to sleep with our fingers crossed.

And in the morning, as the sun was rising, it brought with it some Christmas spirit and happy cheer.
As guests were arriving they brought with them, the usual foods, drinks and deserts. Though one thing different, was the bottles of water that came this year.
We had such a great day. Between the smiles and the laughter the lack of water was easily forgotten. The food and the drinks, the happiness all around.

This made me think, of something we are taught when we are young, something so simple, yet something so easily forgotten. The Grinch isn’t necessarily an angry green monster who hates Christmas, sometimes it symbolizes something as simple as.. water.

And he HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling:
How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!It came without packages boxes, or bags!
And he puzzled and puzzed, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more."

'Twas the night before Christmas..

On Christmas Eve, after seeing the family and exchanging gifts, we made our way to town to look at the Christmas lights.

There were so many wonderful houses, decorated from tip-to-toe in shining lights, cascades of stars in all the colours of the rainbow. Mesmerised by the beauty of the street, it was easy to miss all the smiles, the intensity of pure happiness, the joy of Christmas Eve.

After walking to the end of the road on both sides of the street, we made our way to the big Christmas tree. Where there was an opening in the crowd, right in the middle, big enough for only us.

It is hard to explain the big Christmas tree to someone who has never rested underneath it. Basically, it is like a light show.  After looking into it for a short time, the voices around you drown out, the strangers disappear, and all that’s left are the loved ones next to you.

What a perfect night.