Do you still believe in magic

By Carol Zernial on December 11th, 2017

It snowed recently. While this might not be unusual in many parts of the country, it was big news here in South Texas. During the drive to work, the sight of snowmen standing next to snow-covered palm trees and cactus brought a smile to my face. A colleague of mine called it a gift. To me, the thick blanket of falling snow was magical.

Perhaps it seemed that way, because it’s been a rough last half of the year. With hurricanes, shootings, and extreme political divisiveness in addition to our regular caregiving duties, we needed something out of the ordinary to lift our spirits. But do we still believe in magic?

When my son was still very small, other more sophisticated kids told him that Santa Claus wasn’t real. Children grow up so quickly these days, and I was hoping that he could hold on to that hopeful innocence behind the question a bit longer. I told him that Santa didn’t visit children who didn’t believe in him. But much like the story in the Polar Express, Santa would come as long as he believed.

Believing in magic may be a lot harder to see for those of us who are skeptics. If we really think about it, however, that half empty glass actually is half full. The difference lies within us.

The snow didn’t just lift me up that evening or the next snowy morning. I’ve been seeing things differently all week. In the same way that snowflakes seem to slow time down as they fall, the crazy feeling that the holidays would be over before I could feel them, let alone enjoy them, went away. I have been able to enjoy the bright decorations, sorting pictures for the holiday cards, and planning some gifts.

To cap off my magical week, I heard a story at a holiday party about a volunteer in some war-torn country who was passing out her last gift box when she realized there were two children left. When the first child opened the gift box, for some magical reason, there were actually two of everything inside the box – enough for both children. The volunteer had hiked for miles into the town with the boxes in her backpack without any way to know how many children she would find, but she had exactly what she needed in the end.

And so as we approach the end year, my wish for everyone would be that we find a little magic that gives us all exactly what we need even when we don’t know what lies ahead. Happy holidays and Happy New Year!