A Portrait for you...

So here I sit, once again staring out of my window. Today, I see the snow falling gently on the ground. It blankets everything in white. The snow is clean and has not been tainted by all the things that turn it from white and clean to grey and dirty. Before footprints have crushed it down. Before the plows have tossed the dirt from the road on top of it. The new snow falling like feathers on the already settled snowfall. The trees are draped with the snow and look like huge Eclairs covered in white frosting. Snow shovels are poised next to the front porches of the houses like soldiers, waiting to be called into action. Their handles are layered in snow and fill in as a hat to cover them. They will stand there until someone reaches for them and begins to move the snow from sidewalk to yard.
There is a soft breeze blowing the snow around. Tiny tornadoes of snow dance across the yard and disappear in a blink of an eye. Leaves left behind begin to chase one another across the snow. Some are picked up by the snow twisters and taken into another yard. Others simply rest against the house or find themselves nuzzled in the clutches of small bushes not yet covered by the snow. Still, the snow remains untainted and beautiful.
Why do I paint such a portrait for you today? Things that I see with my mind so often reflect my inward feelings. Painting a portrait this way gives way to the feelings of the holiday that are upon us now. The beauty that is Christmas, the joys and excitement are so like those tiny tornadoes. I swirls in the air and dances in our hearts and minds. It makes us laugh and smile and embraces our souls with everything good. You can almost hear the children screaming their laughter. The snow crunches under their snow-boots and they laugh harder when they slip and slide on the snow. It is as everyday should be, not just the Christmas holiday.
But too often, the snow is dirtied, the trees shaken and the snow that has made them beautiful, allowed to fall to the ground. Commercializing and the knowledge that you will hear "Happy holiday" as it replaces the now unallowed "Merry CHRISTmas" turns the snow to grey. It's beauty now messed by someones false fear that they may not be welcome should they say those "shameful" words. Sadness that all that we are and all that we have fought so hard to keep ours is now Taboo in this land. No longer are the leaves dancing and the "soldiers" that stand and wait are in a far away land. A land that will not cover their heads with snow. Men and women of this great land, fighting for us and our Freedom, wishing they could hear "Merry CHRISTmas" spoken to them face to face by their loved ones. A land of more freedom and more opportunity than any other land, and yet we dirty the purity of our snowfall. We move it and cover it in dirt.
A I watch the still falling snow, I say a silent prayer for those brave me and women that are far from home this Christmas. I embrace them and will build a snowman in their honor. I will smile as I pray for their safe return. An I WILL wish them a very Merry CHRISTmas and pray that he watches over them until they come home. Join me in cleaning the snow a little. Reach out with your heart and tell them "thank you" for all that they do. Build a snowman for them. Find a soldiers name and write to them. Let them know that we are keeping the snow clean for them here. take the time to watch the leaves dance over the snow and watch as the little tornadoes wisp across the yard. I guarantee you, it will put a smile on your face and warmth in your heart. Enjoy the portrait I painted for you. YOU are the canvas I painted on... Merry CHRISTMAS to you all... Always, Darrel