“Be Still and Know that I am God.”
It’s midnight and the fire has died. Good thing I’ve got my toasty True North socks on—the pair I bought in Park City with my adventure buddy Rachel. What I need now is Buddy the Elf. Honestly. Then I might find myself making snow angels for two hours, ice skating, eating a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough (fast as I can), and more importantly, snuggling. That sounds right nice. But it doesn’t remotely resemble my life. That’s when I remembered I should be taking Rachel’s advice: I Need a Silent Night.
“The Time of Being Still” could cure what ails me right now. There’s no way to get a full week of stillness, but I’m going to take today. My son turns 12 on this Winter Solstice. We’ll go to his favorites: Five Guys and Nickel City. That’s not all—we’ll watch the BFG because we haven’t yet and we read it together. He’ll demand some corn and a cup o’ root beer and I’ll serve them up. Happily. I’m not gonna worry about work or college essays or wrapping and least of all mailing. Doesn’t sound like the traditional still I know, but when the birthday candles light my boy’s face I’ll fill up on tranquility and a wince of nostalgia. It will make me smile for sure. And then I’ll think of Buddy the Elf: “I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite.”