The word PEACE stretches out in silver letters beneath the lighted garland on our mantel. Tomorrow we’ll build a fire there and friends will gather round for warmth and cheer. The shortest day of the year has come and gone, & our side of the world now turns toward light.

Will the light show our way to Peace in the year to come?

We must be optimistic about the prospect, whatever the portents we observe. To list them here would darken the mood at this reverent, joyous time. I want only to write of blessed things, so I will write of this, and abolish the dark as a gift to you and me, a communal thing to be shared between us.

The day after Christmas my parents and siblings, our families all will gather beside the warm Caribbean, somewhere on the Yucatan for days of celebration. My parents’ Golden Jubilee draws near, and for that we are truly grateful.

Fifty years of familial peace. Fifty years of love and light. Fifty years together though we live so far apart. These 50 years prove the strength of the bond they forged for us—their children, our children’s children—far greater a gift than any golden heirloom or bland aristocratic privilege. For 50 years we’ve had each other and again as the world turns toward light I see only stronger bonds ahead.

That is cause for optimism, regardless of the portents we feel and see.

Peace and Light on Christmas Eve, dear friends. May my blessings be your blessings, too. I share them freely here.

WordPress prompt word of the day: Communal