Chirstmas Eve came bringing all the holiday magic that I dream of and prepare for. I'm a dreamer. It's not a secret. I look into the Thomas Kinkade village ornaments and imagine it's my family being pulled in the sleigh by beautiful horses. Our laps are covered with wool, plaid blankets, our noses pink from the cold air as the sleigh bells jingle each time the horse's hoof hits the ground. Our sleigh pulls up to the next village ornament and we gracefully dismount and head into the cozy log cabin, the fireplace is crackling as we stomp the snow from our boots. We round up some hot chocolates, the fancy kind with whip cream on top, and sit by the fire listening to carols and laughing and telling stories. My mind plays these perfect holiday movie reels in my mind and every year I try to create some of this imagined magic into real life.
I'm well aware that these dreams of perfect holiday moments can be dangerous. Dangerous because I know perfection isn't possible. I know that my girls would never wear the FairIsle sweaters and matching scarves that I dream of. I know someone would complain that the horses stank or that it was too cold out. I know that my dreams are too specific to be reality.
But it doesn't stop me from dreaming. Callie has told me of her reoccurring daydream where Santa stops by and takes her for a ride in his sleigh. She has hoped and wished soooo much that this would happen for real. And even this year, as she has become more skeptical of all the holiday's magic, she told me again of this great wish that she had. She wonders what it would be like, how it would feel to fly through the sky, she wonders how this reindeer thing really works. She's a dreamer too. And little sister, she doesn't need to dream because she is still the purest type of believer. The movies and the magic are all real life for her.
The kids tracked Santa's every move on Christmas eve, the modern way, online at noradsanta.org. The Santa tracker may have said the big guy was somewhere over Norway or somewhere but the reality was that he was at our door. It was super fun to hear the kids whispering among themselves as to whether he was going to stop by or not and if he did when was he coming and why did the Santa tracker say he was in Norway if he was in our living room.
Despite their questions and skepticism, all these kids hopped up on Santa's knee and asked for games and dolls and Shopkins and such. They promised to be good boys and girls and to leave cookies and milk for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. Because they don't have to be told that its okay to dream.
Even though we didn't get pulled on a one horse open sleigh this year and Callie didn't get a ride on Santa's sleigh, I think us dreamers have an important place in this world. We can picture all the possibilities. We can sit next to the Yuletide fireplace on TV and hear it crackle and feel its warmth. We can imagine reindeer flying through the sky and create the most gourmet reindeer food possible.
To all my fellow dreamers out there... keep dreaming. The only danger in dreaming is not being able to stretch the dream into reality. Are the candles lit, are your people with you, is the music playing? When I looked across my house on Christmas eve, the dream was there. I hope all your dreams came true, too.
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