I Was Thinking... The Empty Lots

It was 9 p.m. on Christmas night and the house was quiet. The noise of ripping open presents had long since passed and even the dishes were done from the traditional meal that was a big part of the day. The anticipation of Christmas was over as my wife and I both enjoyed the quiet of being home with just the lights of the Christmas tree to reflect on the day.
The preparation for these one or two days had been weeks in the making. Decorating, baking, shopping, sending cards and deciding who was going to go where on what day, had all taken up both time and energy. As a child, it seemed like Christmas would never arrive. As an adult, it seems like it was upon us before all the preparations were complete.
But now it was over. Instead of having all the activities of the day at our house, our oldest daughter invited the family to her home. This was a departure from the normal routine, but when your children grow up, the parent’s roles begin to change.
Gifts were packed up in bags to take to her house where she would also be preparing the meal for the day. While accepting change in any way is not something I relish, changing a holiday tradition is even more difficult. But I’m often told that change is good for the soul and this day’s changes were pretty easy to take since my whole family, though be it small, was together.
The day was enjoyable as gifts were opened, food was eaten, and games were played, and some traditional Christmas movies were watched. And then we went home. This time it was us, taking home some of the leftovers.
We had made the drive from my daughter’s house to our home many times but tonight something was different. It wasn’t just about the change of tradition; it was about the parking lots. We passed the largest shopping mall in the area and there was not a single car in any of the lots. This was a stark contrast to the weeks before. We passed several restaurants and again the lots were empty. The traffic on an otherwise busy highway was light and I did not see any trucks.
There was a certain quietness in this otherwise busy city that seemed to make an impression on me. Was this the “Peace on Earth” that was often referred to during the hustle and bustle of the days leading up to Christmas? Was the shopping, the planning, and the preparations now complete? Had everyone finally reached their goal, to spend time with family and friends?
The darkness and emptiness of the parking lots seemed to testify to a “pause” in our hectic lives, a time of reflection and calm. But as beautiful as it appeared for a short time, I realized the next day everything would return to “normal” with people returning unwanted gifts or taking advantages of mark downs on merchandise. But at least for a little while, it seemed that if we try hard enough, we can still find a little calm and quiet to enjoy the truly important things in life.
Did You Ever Wonder? — Why do people still talk when they say they are speechless?