Feliz Navidad!

It’s Christmas Eve and at home there seems to be a ton of fresh snow every day and the temperatures are the mind numbing digits that compare with those in Antarctica. And I expect that on some, probably many, channels George Bailey is carrying Zuzu’s petals around in his pocket as Clarence gives him a glimpse of what life would be like if he had never existed. At home, friends and family are gathering and warming their hands or butts by the fire, and kids everywhere are begging to open just one present before they go to bed.

Here in Mexico, the fireworks are concussing off of the sides of mountains, shaking the glass in the window frames and scaring the dogs; I have been told that this noisy vigil will continue for at least the next twenty four hours. All along the Caraterra there are homes displaying niches with empty mangers and anticipatory, iconic parents; their faces set aglow with strings of Christmas lights, some blinking others constant. On occasion there is a Frosty or a Santa sharing the same small front garden; the incongruity of the scene makes me smile. Friends and families are gathered, and as the sun has gone down, they are warming their hands/butts around fires; women are pulling rebozos a little closer encircling shoulders and kids everywhere are aching to open just one thing before they go to bed!

It is not so different here except that most of my friends and family are warming their hands/butts in front of fires that burn thousands of miles from here and I am missing them. But, tonight I stood in the back yard looking up. The sky is awesome as there is not much ambient light in our small village, which has the advantage of making the heavens appear as black velvet shot with crystal shards. Out of the millions of stars I can clearly pick out the North Star, the Dippers and Orion’s belt; my knowledge of astronomy extends no further. These familiar constellations are positioned differently, or rather I am. Nevertheless their presence makes home seem closer.