...for last night was 'Christmas Eve in Washington'. And today I have woken to one of my personal wishes for the holiday coming true -- overnight we had a snowfall, and so in DC, it really _is_ a White Christmas! :D
I don't know how many will understand with me, but snow really does make all the difference in the Christmas spirit. (After all, it's Santa and his sleigh, not Santa and his dune buggy! :) ) I had written a few Christmas cards earlier in the week, and had such a hard time getting into the mood to write them as I was sitting on my apt. balcony in short-sleeves, in sunny and 60+ degree weather!
But yesterday, I had gone into the city, and went to a Christmas show at the Kennedy Center (front row in the Concert Hall! -- I could've reached out and touched Mark Russell playing at his piano! The other acts were really good too: one sang carols about "Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Nixon" :) ) and afterwards I'd stopped for lunch. When I came out, the first few snowflakes were starting to come down; I exchanged a look with a guy down the street waiting for a bus, and blurted out "We're gonna have a White Christmas!!", which earned me a smile. And despite what it might have meant for getting his job done, I shared a laugh a bit further down the street with a postman who was originally from NJ, about how nice it was to have snow.
I took a walk in the afternoon through Georgetown, peering in all the shop windows at the holiday decorations, and watching the different reactions of people, some who were happy about the snow, some whom were trudging around pre-occuppied with finishing up last minute shopping, others who you could tell were already in dread of a holiday commute home that evening. As for me, I was walking around in my jacket, hood down, letting the flakes land on my face and in my hair, and smiling at how wonderful it all was. And then, as I started to head home, I crossed over the Key Bridge over the Potomac, which gave me a look back across at Georgetown and down the Washington skyline, the holiday lights starting to turn on, with the snowflakes coming down making the whole place look like a giant sno-globe. And I just thought about how beautiful the city was. :D
Some of you who have been getting my mass emails for awhile now are probably wondering where the deep philosophic thoughts are, or the musings on the state of world politics -- part of me feels I've been assigned the role of Linus during the holidays. ;) Well, I don't feel very much like writing about that today. North Korea and Iraq and Al Qaeda unfortunately will still be around to worry about next week. For right now, I just want to play some Christmas music, drink some warm cocoa, and play in the snow outside. And of course, think about all my dear friends, whom I cherish so greatly, and wish were together with me to celebrate and share happyness. :)
Whether you are celebrating today the religious observance or just a day off from work, I hope you have a very good day. *passes around eggnog and candy-canes* Merry Christmas to all, and to all, may the New Year bring much hope and happyness for you and all those around you.
Matt :)