Christmas is not always merry. If you are--for whatever reason--separated from loved ones, it can be depressing and lonely. But you don't have to be a victim of these feelings. You can save your Christmas. This is a true story of how I--with help--saved mine.
Christmas with Family (2 of 3)
Weeks later, I was at the breakfast table listening to the radio.
“We’re guaranteed to have a white Christmas this year,” the weatherman predicted.
“What does he know? It's all guesswork.”
Byron waved his hand to silence me.
“Tons of snow will make traveling hazardous,” the weatherman concluded.
“I think we should postpone our trip to Salt Spring. Our sports car isn’t equipped for driving up snow-covered hills. We can always visit Susan later when the weather’s better,” Byron said.
“No, we have to…” My voice choked. “It’s Christmas. We need to be with family.”
He patted my hand. “We’ll try.”
Days before it was necessary, I made reservations with the ferry that would take us from the Mainland to Salt Spring. Time trickled by until finally, the day came.
I eased out of bed, crept over to the window, breathed out slowly, crossed my fingers and pushed back the curtains. A light dusting of snow covered the ground. Large, fluffy snowflakes continued to fall. It looks so pretty, just like C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s... No! We have to...
Byron rolled over and faced me. “How's it look?”
I pulled the curtains together. “Fine. Just fine.”
He crawled out of bed and pushed back the curtains. “I think we should phone Susan and cancel.”
“No, we can’t. It’s Christmas. It’ll ease up. I know it will.”
He snorted. “So now you're a weather forecaster?”
“Please, we have to try.”
Grumbling, Byron loaded our luggage into our car and drove us to the ferry.
A short line of cars lead to the ticket booth. The BC Ferry worker slid back the window. “Are you sure you—”
“Yes, we're sure.” We can't be alone. It's Christmas. We need to be with family.
Another BC Ferry worker directed us onto the ferry, but not before saying, “Are you sure you—”
I cut him off too.
We boarded the ferry. A routine two-hour trip ended up taking eight hours as we were diverted and re-diverted. But eventually, we docked at Salt Spring Island.
Next post: (Could be a few days earlier--depending on weather conditions) Sunday, December 18th around 5 PM PST
The conclusion of Christmas with Family
Next post: (Could be a few days earlier--depending on weather conditions) Sunday, December 18th around 5 PM PST
The conclusion of Christmas with Family
Picture Books in Canada
Tundra Books
About Tundra Books including how to submit your picture book manuscript.
Sharing my author journey...
Lessons from my largest writing project to-date: a novel for young adult readers...
Don't show and tell, for example, don't write...
Don't show and tell, for example, don't write...
He answers with one word, "Cauliflower."Instead, write...
"Cauliflower," he says.
