The year is coming to a close. Quickly. And I’m okay with it. As usual there were many moments since my last post that I wanted to memorialize with written words, very big…huge… moments, but it just did not happen. I have been overwhelmed with life and sitting for many hours to bang out a couple of paragraphs just wasn’t in the tea leaves. In reality however, I’m just a writer slacker and that’s it… plain and simple. But this post is not about what I haven’t done because that would take too long. Instead it’s about being jolly cuz… it’s the season!
As most people know our poor town took another beating this past year. Through the leadership of some amazing folks the community managed to pull together in beautiful ways and give people hope and strength to keep moving forward. But the struggle is real. Many of my close friends and neighbors are just hoping to be settled back in “a home” before Christmas morning arrives and despite the madness, their spirits remain merry and bright. I admire their strength and resilience more than they know. That said…we are ready for some goodness and I believe we deserve it.
So after a really successful and delicious community Thanksgiving meal catered by the famous Karen and family and hosted by some of Flagler’s Finest volunteers, it’s now time for the annual “Light up Flagler Beach” Christmas lights contest.
What the heck is “Light up Flagler Beach” you wonder? Are we going to set stuff on fire? Ha, well in 2014, while stuffing archaic wire reindeer with tinsel, Mayor Linda P and myself thought it would be a great idea to have a Christmas lights contest, we may have been slightly delirious. The goal was simply to encourage folks to decorate while creating a sense of community through twinkling lights. Now two hurricanes and three years later it’s that time again and I’m pretty excited as people on the streets are already getting into the spirit. (Blog Post 2014)
But before some folks wrinkle their noses I have to say that these days it is easy, breezy to get in on the decorating fun. Yes, there was a time when I started to be a scrooge because it seemed that every string of lights either tripped the electric, half went dim or wouldn’t plug nicely into another set of lights. After hours of climbing into trees, wrapping spindles and meticulous placement I would feel so defeated when they just didn’t work. So much so that I actually (control freak me) let my son and husband take over the responsibility of making it happen. It did not take long before the discovery of Bliss lights set in and now decorating is as simple as one extension cord in the yard. To top things off we added our first inflatable and are thrilled to have Frosty in the family!
So get your holiday groove on and make your neighbors buy black-out curtains.
Just kidding, challenge your neighbors to see who can be most spirited and let’s enjoy the last couple weeks of the year with good cheer.
The “Light Up Flagler Beach” contest is as follows:
Most Original Ornament
Most Traditional
Best Overall
Ultimate Griswold
And this year we will also have Best Decorated Business.
So good luck to you all and let’s light up Flagler Beach!
Join the new Facebook Group to see/ share where the lights are and find out who the winners will be!
