Christmas Lights

One of my absolute favorite things about the Christmas season is Christmas lights. I don't even care that most people make them look really tacky (okay, maybe I care a little bit--either make them all flashing or none of them flashing, not random sections that flash for no reason). I think I love them mostly because I loved how my dad hung the lights every year. It was so systematic and perfect when he finished after hours of painstakingly searching for the burnt out bulbs and hanging then rehanging the strands to get them just right. And then we would drive around comparing our lights to other houses. Sometimes ours were the best. Sometimes we found houses that amazed us. Either way is good.

Even though Camilla is too young to understand most of what's going on with the Christmas season right now, I thought we should try to go drive around and look at lights this year. People in Houston really love Christmas lights. I'm amazed every time I end up driving somewhere at night by the sheer quantity of homes that are decked out in some manner.

Tonight was the night, and we took off as it was getting dark. Camilla seemed to sense that something special was going on. We didn't know how long this venture would last or if it would even interest the child, but she was completely caught up in the joy of looking for lights. I don't think we even had to point them out to her; she found them before we did sometimes. "Lights!" she would exclaim. And then, "Oh, baby!" (She uses this word interchangeably for 'baby' and 'pretty', so I think she was commenting on how pretty the lights were. Either way, it was adorable and we laughed every time she said it.) Then as we passed any visible lights, she would ask, "More?" and we would try to reassure her that we would find more. It was just a joyful evening, and so fun to share a little piece of the holidays with a child who is just starting to scratch the surface of this magical time of year. We're looking forward to seeing her reactions on Christmas day, and hope all of you family and friends have a magical holiday as well! Merry Christmas!