Minnesota Wonderland

Christmas

is in the simple joys of living

It’s in reading a story to the kids at bedtime

and having your neighbors over for dinner

It’s in a good bottle of wine

and a mug of hot cider after two hours of shoveling

and eggnog in the morning while still in your robe

It’s in black and white movies

and old Frank Sinatra records

and waltzing in the living room when you’re sure nobody’s around

and playing penny poker with your cousins ’till two

It’s in huge turkey dinners

and hundreds of relatives

and even more hugs

It’s in crystal glasses

and ringing bells

It’s in a warm roaring fire

Christmas

is in the lights of the city

It’s in cards addressing your mailbox

It’s in calling old forgotten friends

and making new ones

It’s in leaving work early

and shopping all night

and spending more than you can but knowing, somehow it will work out

It’s in seeing your sister on her way downtown

and stopping for lunch

and setting aside differences

It’s in “The Grinch who Stole Christmas”

and Chia pets on TV

It’s in friendship and love and all the good things in life

Christmas

is in a newborn’s gripping smile

It’s in playing with puppies in a fresh fallen snow

It’s in watching your breath drift away in great clouds of white smoke

and throwing a snowball at your brother when he least expects

It’s in a field of birch trees

and how it feels to run among them

and playing tag in the snow when you were eight

It’s in streets lined with giant trees

and houses like gingerbread frosted with snow

and the smell of chestnuts from the wood burning stoves of your youth

It’s in here. . .

and it’s out there

It’s the stuff that dreams are made of

Christmas

is in standing on Nicollet mall and saying to yourself . . . (just barely out loud) “Maybe, just maybe it’s worth all the cold and the snow and the heartache” because for a brief moment you realize that:

Every snowflake that falls has just a little touch of love

and every degree the thermometer drops is just a reminder to hold someone a little closer and a little longer

and every time your car won’t start and you have to walk six blocks to the bus stop it’s just a chance to experience and explore and realize how incredibly beautiful and awesome nature is

‘Cause it really is a Winter Wonderland out there and everything is… pretty cool.