I Am Dreaming of a White Christmas

A light little story

Las Angeles at Christmas time is never original. Everyone really goes out of their way to get that feeling of a White Christmas. It never occurred to me how much I would miss home this time of the year. My small apartment was just big enough to have tree mounted to the wall. This year I just couldn’t be bothered with any of it. The hustle and bustle didn’t appeal to me this year. I am exhausted thinking about the Christmas parties where everyone dresses up and the room is crowded with the smell of phony pine scented candles, the over powering scents of cologne and perfume.

Something was missing and I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I had plenty of opportunity to take part in social gatherings and tree decorating to shopping, yet my heart wanted nothing to do with any of it. I poured myself a glass of wine and curled up on my chair with an urge to go through my family album.

Very old pictures of myself and my sister building a snowman in the yard. Mom in the window taking pictures of course. She never missed a moment. The camera would be the tomb of her existence. I could hear the laughter just by looking at the pictures. The fireplace is going, the tree lit with stockings hung.

My heart started to ache with a sudden urge to go home. Every year I would be invited and would always say no I was busy with work. I wasn’t, but I was younger and the city life allured me in every sense of the word. I guess I am getting older and the true meaning of Christmas has come to life again in my heart.

It didn’t take long to pack and book a flight. I knew I was doing this on a whim but my insides were bursting with excitement. I didn’t tell anyone I was coming which made me nervous but it was time to make new memories.

Just stepping off of the plane I could feel the difference in the temperature. The mountaintops filled with a glaze of cold air. I wrapped my scarf around my neck and soaked in the chill. There was a cab in front of the airport ready and willing to get a client.

I was dazed by the view from the past; the white fresh blankets of snow that laid across the fields. Even the cattle seemed to not mind the cold. Across the way the chimneys of cottages were wafting out smoke from a fresh lit fire. This was home; I was home.

I was dreaming of a White Christmas!! Home was a winter wonderland with people who knew each other and were authentically merry this time of year. Fresh trees being mounted on trucks and street lights glowing under the moon. The hustle wasn’t shopping, or crammed rooms with over dressed people. It was a cozy ritual that made me warm inside.

Laughter from within the house could be heard from the walkway. I couldn’t just walk in so I peered through the frosted glass to get a glimpse of what my heart was yearning for. There it was! The tree was being decorated in the same ornaments from twenty or more years ago. Mom wearing her apron. My nieces and nephews at the piano singing songs I grew up with. Dreaming of a White Christmas couldn’t have been on point so much as right now.

I can’t tell you every detail because it’s that special. I wish you all a Merry Christmas!! I will always dream of a White Christmas, Merry and Bright.