A Norman Rockwell Holiday

I believe that most of us enter the holiday season with a yearning in our hearts for that picturesque Norman Rockwell moment. We desire to see ourselves seated at a large family table high up on Walton Mountain with all the noise and chaos of children calling dibs on the drumsticks, mom and sisters setting heaping plates of food on the table and dad standing ready with the carving knife. We yearn for a warm fire and the warmth of family and friends close by.

The holidays have a way of not turning out the way we envision them. Chances are we won’t find ourselves on Walton Mountain again this year. Not everyone we cherish in our hearts will be close and disappointments and difficulties may indeed come.

I am convinced that the Norman Rockwell type of holiday that we all envision in our minds only happens in the past. Not “happened in the past” as in past tense but “happens in the past” as in present tense. I believe that these memorable holidays do indeed continue to happen and yet we fail to see them as such until time has passed and mishaps or hurt feelings fade just far enough away from view that our heart has a chance to change focus and we look back instead with fond memories.

So the question that begs an answer remains, will we choose to adjust our focus now and let the disappointments that may come fade into the background, or do we need to wait for the passing of time to come. Will we choose to let these moments of difficulty set the tone for the holidays or will we view this season of hope and love through a new set of lenses.

This may indeed be a Normal Rockwell moment. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.