Christmas in London and Snow in Victoria

I called home sometime last week to check in the the ol' fam as I like to do from time to time, and I began to ask about the Christmas decorating. Exterior Illumination is go big or go home style in my immediate family. Christmas is serious. There have been awards won in the past. When pressed, my father responded, sounding only mildly convinced,

"Your mother says she's going to boycott this year."

I don't believe it for a second. I ask my mom about it later, and she says the same, but not with quite the conviction I would expect from a full-out boycotter. All she needed was a little pressing encouragement...."Mom it just won't be the same if you can't see our house from the bottom of the Byron hill," I noted. And it wouldn't be the same if I didn't have to battle an inflatable Santa on the one side and Penguin on the other to enter my front door. And it really wouldn't be the same to not see the ever-expanding line-up of light-covered wire figures, and the magenta-lights which have been there ever since I can remember. They have been there for 23 Christmases now, and I'm not one to break consistency. Why stop now. And why stop covering every bush and tree and inch of deck space in the backyard with lights.

But why stop now. Why boycott holiday illumination after all these years? Why, when it makes people happy. When families go on walks and slow and stop in front of our house and just watch for a while. Or when cars slow down as they drive by. Its nice. I mean, despite the hydro bill, and the waste of electricity, its lovely. It makes my mom happy to do it. It brings warm comforting thoughts to know that things are going on as normal, as they should be, back in ol' London, Ontario. Christmas would NOT be Christmas without the Santa and Penguin, the blinding lights, and the garland-covered railings with soft while lights, and the snowman head everyone affectionately calls Cool-io, and the fiberglass christmas tree Heather and I decorated blazed last year. Don't tell my mom that for sure. And it would be the same without watching Christmas Vacation or the Santa Clause on Christmas Eve, and without watching the Disney Christmas Day Parade on Christmas morning with the gas fireplace going, and without the Christmas dinner that always smells amazing while its cooking all day. Mmmmm.

So Christmas in London will be a wonderful thing. It will be a beautiful, relaxing time with friends and family. No matter the potential obstacles and challenges that inherently lie with being at home for a couple of weeks with a family that, well....that's another post entirely.

A bientot mes amours,
Rach
pee ess: IT SNOWED in Victoria tonight. Jess and I ran out of the library to go see it snow. And we had to wipe off the car when we left the library at 9. It Snowed!!!! But tonight was SUCH a brilliantly clear night! It was stunning. The moon was sooo bright, 3/4 full, and the starts were bright too. There werea few clouds off in the distance, but wow was it cold! Brrrr! Oh I love these nights...they each have a different persona.