Relaxed Enough to Sleep!

The premier viewing of "North Carolina's WWII Experience" last Thursday proved to be relaxing, informative, and challenging -- in regard to staying awake!  I was so exhausted from too much work preparing for Christmas that, when we arrived at the theater and settled in for the documentary, there was absolutely nothing I could do to stay awake!  The seats were tall and comfy and reclined just enough to rest my head; the story was true, often gruesome, compelling and well-done, but when the brain screams for sleep, sleep it gets!  Even with the percussion of artillery and bombs exploding blasting through the theater speakers, I slept, not once, but three times!  Periodically I'd awaken to watch the documentary, picking up as if I'd not missed anything, and then before I knew it, my head would be nodding again and I'd rest it against the headrest and drift into oblivion.  My husband was so kind; he promised to nudge me if I started snoring, which I can do!  Thankfully, no such event occurred, and my final nap was interrupted by applause as the film ended.  Rousing myself, I stood with the other patrons and applauded the masterpiece just viewed, and no one was the wiser to me lapsing into restive sleep!
And it was a masterpiece -- at least as much of it as I watched.  Local people who had lived through WWII recounted their memories, which were interspersed with news clips and old photographs.  Even these many years later, one can still see the pain and trauma as the veterans recounted their war stories.
The walk to the car was cold.  Unseasonably cold weather had descended upon North Carolina, and it was biting, reminding me of my many years in Connecticut.  The cold remained, and on Saturday, we were surprised with snow, which had been predicted to be a light dusting, which began to fall in mid-afternoon.  It turned out to be 2 inches!  My husband and I were in the midst of preparing for a Christmas party for our church friends, a fun-loving group called Overdrive!  The snow was not supposed to stick, but it came down with such fury that it DID stick -- to everything BUT the roads.  Once the snow started to accumlate, I got on the computer and sent an e-mail announcing that a 22-pound turkey was in the oven, the presents were wrapped, the games were ready, and we were not cancelling for a few snowflakes that were not causing problems on the roadways!  As the afternoon progressed and the snow continued to fall, I was enthralled by the beauty it created as it clung to every branch, leaf, and structure.  I opened the door and listened to the snow whispering as it fell between the branches and splashed onto the ground; normal sounds were muffled.  Even the birds were quiet, taking shelter wherever they could as they waited for the storm to pass.
By the time the Christmas party guests started to arrive, the snow was winding down and the landscape was bathed in white.  Our Christmas lights on the shrubs were hidden beneath the heavy, wet snow, slightly muting their glow and making the evening enchanted.  We turned on the fireplace and enjoyed our friends, good food, games, singing, laughter, and gifts.  We probably will never have a snowfall again on the evening of our Overdrive Christmas party -- this is North Carolina! - and we felt privileged to be blessed with such beauty from the heavens!  I'm forever amazed at what God has designed into our world -- just the right conditions and temperatures, and water falling from the sky turns into snow and covers the world in a blanket of white!  Most of the snow is gone now, but I hope more comes our way this winter.  I know others won't agree with me there!