Column by Jim Bishop
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It’s harder for me than adding a set of figures correctly, understanding self-assembly instructions for a gas grill or accepting up front that there will be more month than money before the long, cold days of January (with no days off) give way to the shortest month of the year with occasional hints of spring in the Shenandoah Valley air.
So what is this horrible thing I avoid tackling? It’s taking down our indoor and outdoor holiday decorations, dismantling the Christmas tree and returning everything to storage for another year. We’ve established a tradition of keeping up all displays through Epiphany Sunday, this year no exception.
This year’s tree was, I think, our nicest ever, a Douglas fir that went up Nov. 30, didn’t collapse during the night as some have, its firm branches holding ornaments in place and retaining its needles.
I enjoyed more than a month of emerging from my cocoon while still dark, flipping the switch to the coffee pot, and then plugging in the tree, the radiant glow instantly cutting through the living room darkness and helping provide a jumpstart on the new day. Something now seems missing from the early morning routine with the tree now gone.
Even while the electric candles in the rest of the house come down, we will keep those glowing in our sun room window sills all year long. I feel like these tiny beacons of light provide a symbol of inward and outward
serenity, offering a quiet petition for peace in a world of ever-growing hostility, fear and despair.
I like the Living Bible’s take on Philippians 4:7: “God’s peace is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.”
So, as the bright lights of the holiday season are extinguished, are there alternatives to help stoke the coals of hope, energy and confidence in this new year?
I find myself celebrating some signs of new life around our domicile. An amaryllis bulb potted before Christmas is sending up a bright green shaft that will hopefully burst forth into colorful, joyful blooms yet this month.
At the same time, the buds that slowly appeared at the tips of a Christmas cactus that we’ve had for some years – and had about given up on – suddenly began to swell, and the plant is now putting on a post-holiday show.
Anna recently purchased a treadmill machine that is up and running in our guest bedroom. We’re determined to follow several programmed workout sessions at least three times a week. No longer can we find excuses to become couch potatoes on the living room sofa (even though a flat-screen television with additional channels, acquired at Christmas, beckons). If we can maintain our routines, this apparatus will not wind up sharing space with dust bunnies under the bed.
An Irish proverb in our kitchen is becoming my way of dealing with the bleak midwinter:
– “Sing as if no one’s listening.” I put a CD on our stereo and howl at the “blue moon . . . you saw me dancing alone . . .” If Anna was listening, she has since slipped into our bedroom, closed the door and is playing several rounds of “Hearts” on the computer.
– “Dance as if no one’s watching.” We’ll continue to kick up our heels every Tuesday evening with country line dance lessons and support semi-monthly gatherings of our Leather and Lace country-western dance group at the Dayton Learning Center.
I believe everyone should have at least one regular activity in their schedule that is done just for sheer fun and enjoyment. Even better if it’s something that provides exercise and good fellowship, stimulates the mental neurons and offers a sense of well-being – like dancing.
– “Live every day as if it were your last.” This directive needs little exegesis. Actually, there never is a tomorrow. Tomorrow quickly becomes today, and each of us has the same number of hours in a day to use wisely or abuse greatly. While “early to bed, early to rise” applies here, growing older seems to accelerate my penchant for falling asleep at the switch (or remote control).
Getting up and facing the challenges and unknowns of the day, especially as we roll over another year, is largely a matter of attitude – and gratitude.
I intend to seize each new day and declare, “By God’s grace and with the support of others, I’ll make it, I know I will . . .”
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