31 Dec. 2017
New Year's Eve was a time for dreams and hopes for the future. The party guests had left mother and daughters to welcome the new year as they saw fit. The tree in the front room sparkled with tinsel and fairy lights. Ornaments that had been collected over the years from various travels were mixed with those made by the children and grandchildren over the years. Each one had a special meaning. Collie pointed out several of the treasures to the youngest pair in her brood. Everything from the tiny paper Pegasus that Rhiannon had made in a school art class to fabric picture pillows that the Harker children had tucked in her stocking this year.
Outside, it had begun to snow; a chilly winter wind blew the snowflakes around. They seemed to dance much like the winter fairies that dwelled in evergreen trees. Clad in fleece footed pajamas, Abby and Madison knelt on the window seat to watch the show Mother Nature and Jack Frost were putting on. As they watched, the girls enjoyed hot chocolate and sugar cookies. Trebor had risen higher in the sky as the midnight hour got closer. Colleen made her nightly rounds to make sure the doors and windows were secured. Afterward, she settled on sofa with a large illustrated book in her lap.
Giggling came from the girls as they left their perch and ducked down behind the sofa. If Collie knew what they were up to, she didn't let on. She turned the pages of the book to a story that explained why candles were often left burning in the windows of people's homes. Two heads popped up and peered over her shoulder.
"What's that?" Abby gestured to the book in her mother's lap.
Madison gave her sister a bemused look that seemed to ask Are you for real". "It's a book, Abby! Don't you know that?"
"Of course I know it's a book, silly!" Abby shook her head. "I want to know what Mama's reading!"
"Ohhhhhhhhh." Madison nodded and climbed up to sit next to her mother. "It's almost bedtime, huh?"
Abby shuffled over and sat on the opposite side of their mother. "Gotta be. It's nighttime and a storybook is coming out."
"Almost, my girls, almost." Collie smiled contentedly and started to read aloud. The girls had started to nod off as they listened.
New Year's Eve was a time for dreams and hopes for the future. The party guests had left mother and daughters to welcome the new year as they saw fit. The tree in the front room sparkled with tinsel and fairy lights. Ornaments that had been collected over the years from various travels were mixed with those made by the children and grandchildren over the years. Each one had a special meaning. Collie pointed out several of the treasures to the youngest pair in her brood. Everything from the tiny paper Pegasus that Rhiannon had made in a school art class to fabric picture pillows that the Harker children had tucked in her stocking this year.
Outside, it had begun to snow; a chilly winter wind blew the snowflakes around. They seemed to dance much like the winter fairies that dwelled in evergreen trees. Clad in fleece footed pajamas, Abby and Madison knelt on the window seat to watch the show Mother Nature and Jack Frost were putting on. As they watched, the girls enjoyed hot chocolate and sugar cookies. Trebor had risen higher in the sky as the midnight hour got closer. Colleen made her nightly rounds to make sure the doors and windows were secured. Afterward, she settled on sofa with a large illustrated book in her lap.
Giggling came from the girls as they left their perch and ducked down behind the sofa. If Collie knew what they were up to, she didn't let on. She turned the pages of the book to a story that explained why candles were often left burning in the windows of people's homes. Two heads popped up and peered over her shoulder.
"What's that?" Abby gestured to the book in her mother's lap.
Madison gave her sister a bemused look that seemed to ask Are you for real". "It's a book, Abby! Don't you know that?"
"Of course I know it's a book, silly!" Abby shook her head. "I want to know what Mama's reading!"
"Ohhhhhhhhh." Madison nodded and climbed up to sit next to her mother. "It's almost bedtime, huh?"
Abby shuffled over and sat on the opposite side of their mother. "Gotta be. It's nighttime and a storybook is coming out."
"Almost, my girls, almost." Collie smiled contentedly and started to read aloud. The girls had started to nod off as they listened.