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Dismantling Christmas
Yesterday was the day I finally took down my Christmas decorations. I know, I know…you’re shaking your head in disbelief, I mean here it is February…we’ve already passed Groundhog Day and I’m just now dismantling Christmas! It is like this for me every year. I really love Christmas…the tree, the lights, the ever-present life it reminds me of…I have a hard time letting it go and this year was no exception. So I tethered the dog to a tree outside and got down to business. I had our artificial tree in pieces, surrounded by ornaments and containers which were spread all over the floor. Occasionally I wandered past the slider and peered out at the dog. To my surprise I found her sitting by a bush, staring at me through the glass, with Zen-like attention. She was the picture of perfect patience! I would later find out that she had chewed through the lead I had used to anchor her and was only still there because she had managed to tether herself with it’s lose end to the bush she was so intentionally occupying space near! Not knowing that…I was extremely impressed with her behavior!
A few hours later, the tree, ornaments and decorations were put away, the furniture was rearranged, the room was sparkling clean and I (like God in the book of Genesis) was pleased with what I had done and had decided it was good.
The Pink Soccer Ball
My three year old was delighted to help me take everything down…she had been doing this for months without permission! So of course she soon tired of it and discovered the pink soccer ball her Uncle had given her instead. She was tossing it in the air…lost in the pursuit of seeing just how close she could get it to the top of the vaulted ceiling of the living room when I interrupted her with instruction to roll the ball in the house. She looked at me and dutifully rolled the ball as I climbed the stairs with an armful of articles that belonged on the second floor. I got as far as my bed, to set the items I had been carrying down, when I heard the loud crash of very thick glass, shattering.
I flew down the stairs, my legs felt like they materialized under me I was moving so quickly. My daughter was no where in sight. In a myriad of pieces on my fireplace mantle was a the solid crystal picture frame that has held my wedding photo for the last eight years. The wedding photo now had a few scratches. Another little frame that had contained a picture of a cat sitting inside a top hat floating in midair with the caption of don’t try to understand…just go with the flow had also broken. The pink soccer ball was resting unaffected along the edge of the carpet.
Broken but Beautiful
While cleaning the glass I was thinking about how I might react to this incident. I could see myself crying over it, over the lost wedding gift, over the damaged photo. I could see myself angry over what I could have easily perceived as a giant mess. I could see myself making my daughter feel bad for her delight in watching that ball fly. I could SEE them all but I could not BE any of them. None of them fit. Just then the light through the window shifted as I sat there sifting through the pieces, every little shard shone like a diamond. Rainbows of color and light danced off the pieces and I was awestruck by how beautiful this frame still was…even though it resembled nothing of its former self.
Nothing remains of the crystal frame that once sat on my mantle…but when I think back on it today, it’s not loss or hassle that comes to mind…it’s the beauty of those shards sparkling in the sunlight. It reminded me that broken is a perspective…the beauty in life can be masked by that viewpoint but it is always present if we allow ourselves to see it.
