Christmas lights

The Chicken Wire Ball

| Flower Roberts

I should not carry things up the steps. My helpful family tried to assist with decorating by hauling everything Christmas upstairs to our greatroom. Most of what came up was obsolete decorations, old strings of dead non-LED lights, Christmas cards labeled 2017 through 2020 and momentos that I just can’t seem to part with.

These things encircled me as I sat on the couch planning my strategy. The circle seemed to slide inward until I could not move. This was proof of two things.

  1. A serious purge of everything Christmas is needed.
  2. If nobody can recognize the currently used decorations, then nobody really cares. Hi Ho!

One thing among the Christmas chaos stood out above the rest. It was a beachball sized chicken wire ball I made years ago and never finished it. This rusty monstrosity has been hanging overhead in my workshop for years.

Why would anyone think this piece of junk needed to be hauled upstairs and placed at my feet like an offering from the Magi?

I asked Mr. Flower to plug it in. The lights did not work. I laughed outloud.

This chicken wire ball is the perfect symbol for the past five years in our family. If you are a loyal follower, you may remember that I spent Christmas Eve of 2019 in the ICU with my daddy watching all the blinking lights on his monitors. He did not get home ’til March, but when he did, he popped a Christmas music CD into the player in the living room which drowned out the instructions that the therapist was trying to give us.

My sister thought this concert was sweet. I found it irritating…of course. We saved all gifts to open when he got home. What would Christmas be without Daddy? We know now…Never the same.

So the chicken wire ball is the perfect example of postponed progress. Sometimes life sidetracks you so you end up doing things way past when you expected… Like listening to Christmas music in March.

I put new lights on the chicken wire ball today. I plugged them in before I wound them around and around that rusty orb. They are bright white so as to shine brightly.

I think it looks nice out there lighting the darkness. I hope Daddy can see it.

FLOW

Burning Lights and Floating Berries

| Flower Roberts

I spent last night in one of my favorite places on Earth.

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One of my “heavens” is Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.

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It was especially blissful this weekend, because in addition to amazing sculpture and plants, they added MILLIONS of lights.

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The event is called “Nights of a Thousand Candles.”

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The thousands of burning candles were accompanied by millions of lights wrapped around shrubs,  dangling from tree limbs and artfully highlighting the giant oaks and their mystical Spanish moss.

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Candles were floating in glass orbs in the many water features.

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Colorful glass sculptures were lit to make a magical glowing garden.

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Just when I thought I had been dazzled to my heart’s content, I walked into the Brown Sculpture  Court to be knocked over by the most lovely display of all.

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The central canal contained Poinsettias surrounded by millions of floating cranberries. The color combination was magical.

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My sister and I will be going back next year and taking our parents. This was a dream.

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Not to mention the live music and tasty food. Did I mention model trains?

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Now that folks, is how we celebrate in the south.

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