I guess I was thinking too much about darkness and light and angels because I almost walked right into a branch. Behind me， the daughter of the woman living with cancer helped her mother down the steps. They were laughing and holding hands. I remembered that Emily Dickinson’s poem about finding our way.
The Bravest
Grope a little—
And sometimes hit a Tree
Directly in the Forehead—
But as they learn to see
Either the Darkness alters—
Or something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight—
And Life steps almost straight.
I found my headlamp， turned it on and picked up the pace. But a friend called for me to wait， to help her see the way， and so we walked together， back to the road and back to our cars and back to our homes， grateful for the love of friends， parents， husbands， children and all the many， many blessings of this life.
我總覺得今年的聖誕節有些奇怪，還得準備一個星期。可能是因為這氛圍看上去像3月份，而不是12月，一切都顯得沉悶，令人心煩。
星期六早上，我把聖誕音樂的音量調到最大，吵醒丈夫和孩子們，讓他們幫忙打掃衛生。我們收拾房間，吸塵、拖地。丈夫修剪聖誕樹，使其大小與房間相宜，我掛上彩燈做裝飾，然後搬出木質的聖誕老人，在壁爐上放一排。
快到中午時，家裏看起來有些聖誕節的氣氛了。我獨自衝出家門，去天堂海灣，參加一個“女士午茶”的聚會。我打開頭上的小型照明燈，沿著車道走，還沒有聽見嗡嗡的發動機聲，就遠遠看見房屋上閃耀的燈光。在手工建造的房子裏，我們的女主人在桌子上已經擺好了她母親的陶瓷茶杯，蠟燭已在窗台上的玻璃杯中燃燒。
邀請函建議我們都戴上聚會時的帽子，有一半的女人戴了。把聚會改成喝茶，我們大多數人都很高興，大家都太忙了，“準備好過聖誕節了嗎？”幾乎成了所有談話的開端，接著就是抱怨沒有做好準備。我們甚至突發奇想，如果哪一年不過聖誕節，不知會發生什麽事。