Enjoying the view over Comox Bay.
One week from today, many of us will be exchanging gifts as part of the way we celebrate Christmas. Today I felt I got an early gift from the Lord in the day itself. It was one of those special winter days which was more like a cool, crisp fall day, one just right for walking.
Cynthia had gone to do some shopping, so I decided to head for the Courtenay Air-Park Walk, a walking trail which circles the small air-park in Courtenay and goes beyond it. The air was clear and refreshing, the sky a brilliant blue and it felt so good to be alive.
I parked at the south end of the walk where the Courtenay River empties into Comox Bay. The first thing that impressed me was the large number of people enjoying the area. There were walkers like me, cyclists of all ages, and families with parents pushing strollers. Kids enjoyed the playground at the south end, while their parents socialized and enjoyed each other. People relaxed on benches in the warm sunshine while watching the seabirds come and go on the bay. They also sat and chatted to friends who might be walking past and stopped to greet them. Kayakers were on the river which wraps itself around the east side of the park and meanders down on the bay. Seagulls and eagles were enjoying the remains of the latest salmon run as carcasses rotted on the mud flats or along the edges of the river.
On both my laps around the park and before heading back to the car, people took the time to wish me good-day and reciprocated to my greeting of, “Merry Christmas to you!” When I got back in the car and headed for home, I felt so good…not only from the walk but from my interaction with those around me.
So, as Christmas approaches:
“A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!”
Which the family re-echoed.
“God bless us every one!” said Tiny Tim, the last of all.
-Charles Dickens,
A Christmas Carol
Goodbye for now, God bless, and have a wonderful Christmas.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
