A Fairy Lake Christmas

My creation, originally uploaded by bluebirdsandteapots.

Every now and then you get lost in a magical moment and the way you see your world changes a little forever. One Christmas night I went for a ride to see the Christmas lights and I came upon a lovely setting called Fairy Lake. We were living in Toronto at the time and my girls were taking riding lessons at a horse barn nearby. So, I went to get us some hot chocolate in town. There was a lake in the center of the little town of New Market called Fairy Lake, and as I drove passed the lake I was captured by the beauty set before me.



The lake was all lit up with Christmas lights twinkling against the dark starry night. A slight piece of land looking like a fairy size island sat in the middle of the lake. A beautiful Christmas tree all lit up boasted beautiful Christmas lights and was on display right in the center of the island. The lights reflected in the lake and the image of the tree and the island made it look like a beautiful Christmas centerpiece.



To me it looked just the way Christmas is supposed to look. Nothing fancy, just the splendor of lights against the simplicity of nature. All of a sudden my eye caught the sight of what appeared to be a parade of lights in the distance marching towards me. Twinkling lights looking like fairy dust all in a line but getting larger as it got closer to me.



I watched and waited for the light of the nearby lamppost to define what I was seeing. There marching in a straight line like baby ducklings was a group of little children and each child carried a lit candle. The leader seemed to be enjoying the moment as much as I was observing it. No one was around, with the exception of this young woman and her parade of lights wearing snowsuits, caps, scarves and mittens.



I sat in silence wanting to share the moment, but finding myself all alone and memorizing each detail so I could tell the girls. I had no camera in the car, just my wishing to embrace this serendipitous moment. The quiet of the moment of that snowy night was only interrupted by the sound of the children’s laughter. The innocence lighting up that Christmas evening was painted into my stash of Christmas memories forever. I believe that Christmas embraces the little ones, but it is the little ones that teach us the true wisdom of Christmas.



I relive that beautiful night every Christmas and bring to life the image that I embraced years ago. It reminds me to observe the splendor that surrounds me each Christmas and to look for the simplicity.

To learn to appreciate love, nature and the simple pleasures as the only gifts I truly need. Looking into a child's face at Christmas aglow with believing in the magic of the season, reflects that which we must remind ourselves to embrace, or we risk forgetting to look for that same magic which still lives in our hearts.