Deconstructed Christmas

Growing up in Ohio it was easy to find my Christmas spirit with the snow and cold within my reach…but after moving to Florida I wondered how I'd ever find my Christmas spirit in the warmth or on the beach. Well I must admit despite my initial reservations…(yes, even I am stunned) to discover there is that Christmas spirit…down here in the Florida sun. It's in a walk on the beach before the sun rises…for no matter which way you choose to go…the moonlight whitens the sand and you find yourself walking barefoot in the snow. You quickly come to realize you're not the only one enjoying a southern Christmas-land as you pause to enjoy a snowman built completely out of sand. For Christmas lights look to the stars in the sky…as they twinkle through the trees or to their shimmering reflections they create upon the sea. When the sun begins to peek over the horizon illuminating the sea and ground… you find a million different ornaments strewn upon the ground. Which makes you walk a little slower…more carefully through this ornament surprise…stopping every now and then to pick one up…to admire it's color, shape or size. You appreciate their beauty…how smooth they feels…each one a unique sight to see then you place them back upon the sand…where nature intended them to be A little further down the beach you marvel where the tide had visited before receding off the land…for in her wake she's left behind rows of garland on the sand. And you don't have to walk very far…to find a topper for your tree Your can choose between an angel in the clouds…or a starfish from the sea. It turns out if you walk along the beach in December in Florida… where your view is unimpeded…unobstructed… you can find your Christmas spirit…in a Christmas deconstructed. It's not the Ohio Christmas I grew up celebrating… but one walk along the beach makes it abundantly clear… in Florida…a deconstructed Christmas…is one you celebrate all year.