brightly in the night

Yesterday I was talking to a couple of friends at church and I mentioned that my Christmas lights were still up. They barely noticed the statement, because such things are common in my house.  Almost to myself I said, They make me happy.

To which, one friend turned and looked me directly in the eyes and said, You have them on?

Heck yes.  I’ve believed for a long time that Christmas lights should really be Winter lights.  Or Still In The Coldest, Darkest Part Of The Year lights. No Good Holiday In Sight lights? Whatever. They make me happy and this time of year I take what I can get.

These pictures are from a trip to Garvan Gardens in December; we had never been before and I would highly recommend it.  Next December.  Not that this post isn’t timely…I’m not late, I’m just giving you eleven whole months to plan next year’s trip.

The whole place was full of giant lighted displays, many of them looking like they’d been crafted specifically for Garvan.  I wish I had better pictures, but I’ve decided after looking through the set from that night that at this point, great Christmas light pictures need a little more expertise than I have.  Or maybe a tripod.  The ones that came out best for me don’t give you the overall view, but look more like this…

You’re able to be this close because you walk through the displays, and that was a part of it I really enjoyed.  It was cold, we were bundled, and somehow the walking with with our little crowd felt homey and old-fashioned.

And the crowd that we were walking with wasn’t too shabby either.  We toured Garvan with some friends we’ve met on Twitter.

I realize that last sentence could fall into the catagory of Crazy Things She Says – but seriously, meeting these folks over the course of the last few months has been a truly nice surprise.  When Bryan and I first went to a “tweetup” last summer, I pretty much thought we had crossed the line into complete geekery.  I kept trying to explain it.

I would have never thought, then, that by now we would have shared meals together, or that I would have gotten so much good advice on topics ranging from how best to communicate through social media to how best to sit whilst appearing on TV.  I have gained much from knowing these people.

But perhaps the best part of the process for me has been realizing that while we may heartily agree on the best movie we saw last year, we don’t always agree on everything else. It has turned out to be a new way for me to see the personal side of whatever the topic of the day is – to understand the ‘other’ side.  To give a little more room in my heart.

Which is always a good thing.