A few weeks ago, my husband and I, along with our friend, Linda, made our annual pre-Christmas trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We have been doing this for several years, it has become a treasured tradition each December. Mister Rain and I go out there a few other times each year, mostly to stock up on foods you can only get in that area. I am always surprised to see wide open spaces, so rare these days. Although commerce is alive and well in “Dutch Country,” you don’t have to go far off the main roads to find empty fields and farm land. I don’t live in a booming metropolis myself, but it makes me happy to know this still exists not that far from my home.
Other than our weekly groceries, we shop mostly online. I am sure you can say the same. It’s convenient, and for someone with a visual impairment who cannot browse in a store, purchasing via a website means being able to enlarge the items, see names of colors and sizes. Therefore, on top of spending the day with Linda, who I have known for 40 years, it is a nice change of pace to explore some shops and their products, especially when they are unique to this location. Don’t get me wrong, I love Amazon. They come to my house several times a week. But it is a special event anymore to walk into a retail establishment all decked out for the holidays. And although we may buy a few gifts, this day is not about crossing a name off a list but finding something distinctive, dare I say . . . fun?
Today, like the tree at Rockefeller Center lit only 21 days ago, a switch will be hit and we will return to our regularly scheduled programming. Sure, New Year’s is on its way but, for the most part, we, depending upon where you live, of course, settle into the long, cold months of winter. Even though most of us have complained since Halloween about all we need to accomplish prior to December 25th, after the un-decking, there is the inevitable letdown. You know how when you have worked out hard it takes a bit for your body to slow down? It is the same thing, only in this case you are wearing a silly Santa hat or dangly light-up earrings in the shape of Christmas tree bulbs.
In Lancaster, at the many spots where there is nothing but the earth and the sky, peppered by a silo here, a fenced in pasture there, I am reminded that some things remain untouched by the date on a calendar, by the outside world. I am not talking about the Amish community, although we see our fair share of them as well as their homes, horses and buggies. It is more about feeling like there is room to breathe. I am sure they celebrate Christmas here like the rest of us, but I wonder, are they, in this opennes, doing it better than the rest of us?
Way to bring the birth of Jesus and the most wonderful day of the year way down, Sister Rain.
It is something to consider though, isn’t it, as you wake up tomorrow morning in your new pajamas, replacing batteries that have already died in your kids’ toys, as you head out to the December 26th sales.
Today, however, I wish you a wonderful Christmas spent however you choose. Like Lancaster, Sister Rain will be here tomorrow. And she may still be wearing her silly Santa hat.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #lancasterpa #christmas #falalalalancaster
