The Lights of Life

I have a hard time imagining what the Christmas season looked like before civilization tapped into electricity. I do recall my grandparents sharing stories of the fleeting moments when their parents would light candles on their tree. They could only leave them lit for a few minutes, but I think that made it all the more breathtaking to them.

Such humble sights are not the 21st Century way, but we did manage to find some thrilling views of our own last night when we took the kids to nearby Life University for their annual lights display. We first fed the kids an early dinner, then let them put on a pair of Christmas pajamas to wear on our outing. I don't know what it is about wearing pajamas in unexpected places, but the kids were overjoyed, with Danny jumping up and down shouting, "I can't wait! I'm so excited!" To further the pleasantries, Clare and I had made red-and-green sugar-decorated rice krispy treats to eat in the car. Wow!


Thus we headed out. We had never seen the Lights of Life ourselves, though Clare and Danny went with Donna and Larry last year, and it sounded terrific. Which it was! Danny summed it up best when he declared, "This place is wonderful!" It's hard to do the lights justice with my pictures. The large displays wind through the campus, easy to see from all windows of the car as you drive through. The Santa hat-clad sea monster in the middle of the small lake was quite popular with Tim and the kids. I was amazed by Santa and his sleigh and the many trees surrounding Santa's workshop.



After we drove through most of it, we parked and walked through the concessions area. They had photo ops with Santa, but despite Danny's engaging smile and wave to the big guy, both kids declined yet again, keeping our Santa-free streak alive for the sixth year in a row. Much more importantly, they offered pony rides! We hit that at just the right time and didn't have to wait in line. Pony rides in pajamas - what a win!



After dodging the over-eager goats, we found another spot to walk around and got a better look at the sea monster and other sights. More oohing and ahhing ensued, and then it was time to head home. Where we saw Tim's more modest, but nonetheless pleasing, lights display on our own house. Another Seymour tradition has been born. Happy holidays indeed.