“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”

– J.R.R. Tolkien

Another Christmas holiday season is officially done.  The decorations are packed away for another year, the treasured gifts have found their places amid the rhythm of our life, and it is time to return to work and school and walk into a brand new year.  One of the nicest things about holidays is the opportunity they give us to reflect on the changes we have seen in ourselves and others since our last holiday gathering.

Next to the doorway in our kitchen there is a board that goes from baseboard to ceiling.  For twenty years we have recorded the changing heights of our children on that board behind the door; and we have a visual record of the way they have grown from toddlers to adults.

With all the overlapping names and dates, the board was becoming difficult to read; so last summer, Grandpa added a new one to the left of the original.  It is there that the grandchildren delight in shedding their shoes, backing up to the wall, and seeing the new mark that shows they have grown taller.

Lily could see this Christmas that at age 8 1/2, she is only half an inch shorter than Uncle Dan was when he was nine.

We place a lot of emphasis on how children grow and how they change through the years.  What I find equally interesting is watching the ways they stay the same as they mature.  The future is in the hands of the small people who are part of our lives.  What sort of future will they build?  My thoughts immediately go to Miss Cheyenne, now 3 1/2, whose indomitable spirit of Love shines through in so many special ways.  Last year I introduced you to the incredible Smiles of my little granddaughter; and I am here to report that she is as radiant as ever.  There are some things about us that change, and there are some things that remain amid all the changes.  Those lasting qualities are the ones that lie closest to the essence of who we really are.  We grow, we learn, we change our appearance, but the Love and the Light that resides at our center remains constant.  And if we are very lucky, we learn how to shine.

At the risk of embarrassing myself — since my sweetheart always takes pictures of me when I’m chewing or cross-eyed or otherwise grotesque — I bring you Cheyenne’s New Year’s Smile.  It starts in her eyes and lights up the whole room.

Look, Grandma!  We got the same kinda hair!

Ah, heredity.  It will get you every time!