Post-Christmas thoughts

Christmas is over for another year and there are a few things that stand out in my mind from Christmas 2003:

RAIN - lots of it. Running barefoot with high-heel shoes in hand up the road after church to reach the car a block away. Roads are sure harder than I remembered as a barefoot kid... Icy cold, but welcome, very welcome rain.

A packed-full church. Sitting next to someone I've never met before and feeling weird that I was in the congregation, not on stage. Lots of singing, lots of standing and sitting, Christmas aerobics. A good message. Rain pouring through the fan high up in the church wall and dripping on the carpet. Merry-merries from friends and strangers, annual kisses and big bear-hugs.

Overturned car on the highway as we made our way to the relatives. Completely smashed-up, the driver sitting nearby with his head in his hands. No visible bodies lying around, but the ambulance still on its way. Life is short - a Christmas accident scene is very sobering. Tears arriving unbidden - I prayed over a stranger as we passed by.

A surprise guest at lunch. An ex-prisoner, rough-cast from years in jail. My sis-in-law has been visiting him for years. He's now out of jail and trying to get his life back together. He joined us as one of the family. Rough, yes. Beautiful soul, very much so.

The round-about way home, through rain patches and rainbows, sightseeing roads we never travel through vineyards and industrial areas, shack towns and open land. Much to think about. Oh, and a sighting (first time ever!) of a TURKEY pecking along the edge of the highway!!! Where he escaped from is anyone's guess, but at least he wasn't served up for dinner.

Loads of loot to haul from the car before the next raincloud arrived - we went bearing "baby" marrows (zucchini) weighing in at a few kilos each from my garden, along with a gigantic arum lily bulb for Aunty Heather and a back-seat full of home-made presents. We came back bearing a second-hand microwave, a passed-down CD rack and many wonderful gifts. Still recovering from the food...

"Merry Christmas Mr Bean" - a really good way to end the long day with a belly-laugh or 30.

And now it's the in-between. The time when the excitement of Christmas is over and the New Year has not yet struck. A sort of activity vacuum, not quite sure what to do with one's self. Perhaps a time to be still, to remember, to dream dreams for the next year, to appreciate life and so many blessings.