when i was a child

when i was a small child a couple of times when we plugged the lights on the Christmas tree, my grandmother would change from an old woman to an old woman with the face and wonder of  child. each time she would look inside and tell us about her father lighting the candles on her tree when she was a small girl before there were electric lights for Christmas trees. she would tell us how her mother would stand holding a bucket of water in case the unthinkable happened and the candles caused the tree to burn and how her father quickly and carefully lit the candles on the tree so they could all have maybe a minute or two at the most to see how beautiful the tree had become and then her father would put out the candles very quickly and carefully. the amazing part to me was not the beauty or danger she described but how the memory of events which took place before 1900 some 60 odd years before she told me would change her so very much. i could almost see the little girl watching the process with wonder and some fear and imagine her dazzled by what she saw, for when she would describe it she changed.

memories are like that. they are in fact a time machine that strips away the years and takes us back.

may you find gifts like this in your life that transform you so deeply that it is never lost. may you feel wonder and joy when looking back.

blessings to all who read this.

Arturus