An Evening Drive

The holiday season is here.Less than a week until Christmas, and this year has been a heavy one.

Money feels tight. Energy is thin. The spirit a little bruised.It hasn’t been easy to step into the glow when the year has already asked so much.

My daughter is looking forward to Christmas Eve. Seeing family. Familiar faces we haven’t seen in a long while.But lately, she’s been spending more time on her own. Quiet. Pulled inward.

Her library books were due, and instead of rushing out during the day, I waited.When the sun dipped low, I asked her to come with me.

We took the long way into town. I detoured past a few spectacular Christmas displays. Turned on the radio. Let the music fill the space between us. Let the lights do their quiet work.

And then I saw her smile. She watched the decorations slide past the window. Took it all in. Settled into the moment.Just for a little while, a spark returned.

When we got home, she disappeared back into her room to play with friends online.But I got that moment. That smile. That small pocket of mother-daughter time. We haven’t been able to get her out to look at lights lately.So this mattered. It wasn’t a wasted trip.It was a small, glowing win.A reminder that sometimes the long way is exactly how the light finds us.