Love and Light are two powerful symbols of this season of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. And, to make the most of this holiday season I am filling my home with light. Jim and I are very fortunate to have a large hearth fireplace which we use faithfully each night of winter. It is very festive when the sun goes down in our cozy cottage, the fire roars, the Christmas lights click on, and the candles flicker. Like old and dear friends, I am grateful for their comfort. I may have a candle “problem,” and it takes a long time to extinguish them every night, but that is another story.
The best season of the year began for our family with the wedding of my oldest and dearest niece, goddaughter, and the lighter of the Thanksgiving dinner candles. Amanda’s destination wedding weekend was filled with love. Jenna was in the wedding, and Kelsy, Steven, and James also made the trip. Extended families on many sides celebrated the ties that connect us all. A flame thrower brought the light to the festivities and we started the holiday season in perfect fashion. My new nephew-in-law even gained a second Aunt Nancy!
The poetry world dimmed a little this month as Nikki Giovanni’s bright light was lost. Giovanni wrote more than two dozen books, including volumes of poetry, children’s books, and three collections of essays. She was a professor of English at Virginia Tech for 35 years. She wrote: We love because it’s the only true adventure. I have been reflecting on these poignant words.
Love is an adventure. Whether it takes you to Jamaica for a destination wedding, Florida for Thanksgiving at your daughter’s home, South Carolina to celebrate your mother’s Pearl Harbor Day birthday, or keeps you at home on the Chester River to celebrate Christmas a bit early with two of the three. Love is what matters most on this planet and is what makes the adventure worth the trip! Forget the other stuff. Love with your whole heart.
Wishing you Love and Light this holiday season and in the coming New Year.
That's Another Story 