Three weeks of cable TV, and I have caught up on all the made-for-TV Christmas movies that were ever made. The good news is that watching cheesy movies is the best way to wrap gifts. The bad news is that it can get late real fast. On the weekend, two nights I stayed up until 2 am. A little slow start to the next day. But it is the season for being weary so off to the shops I went. Everyone is buzzing.
This week has been full of surprises arriving on my desk in the mornings. Parties and gatherings. A lot of fun!
I stopped by to visit my friend Heather and and her daughter Madison on Monday evening after yoga and a yoga feast. The snow was falling most of the evening, and when I went to leave, there was enough gathered to haul out the brush. I could feel the nudge of the earrings as they rubbed against my winter jacket. These earrings are a gift from my mother that I received in September. Ever since I got them, I haven't worn any other earrings. Life is just simpler that way. They are silver, cut in such as way that they sparkle; round hoops where the end snaps between two protruding wires. Light, dresses up any outfit, and works well with my dark hair.
All was perfect until the cold weather came, and they started hooking on my silk scarf and then the collar of the jacket. A couple of weeks ago, when I looked into the bathroom mirror, I only saw one. What happened to the other? The next morning when I went out to the car, there it was on the floor. Back into my ear. Happy again.
I was wearing these earrings when I went to yoga, then dinner, and then Heather and Madison's. I felt a tug on my ear when I was cleaning the driver's side window. I lifted my hand to my ear and it was gone. I looked down and there was nothing but fluffy snow. One thin-hooped earring in a lot of white. And it was dark. I looked around, and then hoped that it fell inside of my jacket.
I couldn't imagine how I could ever find it. Unless.... I searched throughout all my clothing and the car. But it was gone. Gone. I was surprised by my disappointment. I thought about that earring and where it could be. I thought of calling Heather but I knew it would do no good. No, no one could help me. I told myself that this was a lesson in non attachment. But I was still sad.
In the middle of last night, I had a brain wave; I would go look on the street during the daylight, right where I parked two nights before. As soon as I got out of my car, I saw immediately the vastness of my problem. The snow plows had come by in the last couple of days and there were heaps of snow on the side of the road. This is a needle in a haystack, I thought. I will have to wait until spring. I shuffled my feet in the snow, but felt the fruitlessness of that massive pile.
I turned back to the car and looked down, more automatically then anything else. Out of the left corner of my eye, I saw a sparkle. I blinked my eyes. And moved forward. I saw a curve; the rest was caught in the slush and mud. It was indeed my earring... It was totally intact, though it must have had many cars ride over it.
I understand that tales of Christmas Miracles are about dreams coming true. And in a way that is true for me. You see, in my day time, I was certain that my earring was gone forever. But during the night, I had persistent thoughts and dreams about where it could be. And I just followed through with that idea, no matter how far fetched it seemed.
I am not sure if this is TV movie material. But having my first Christmas miracle, that is cool.
