The brightening effect of Christmas lights

I was reviewing some of my old posts and picked up on a petty grim and condemnatory note permeating most of them. Thought that I'd brighten that impression a bit with a thank you to those people who take the time, muster the energy and spend the money to decorate their houses at Christmas. Every year, our family ventures out in our community, looking for those glowing houses. My kids are often dumbstruck (rare for my kids) by some of the creative, humorous, or just plain over-the-top houses we see. This is one of the great pleasures of the holiday season.