Storytime: Christmas carolers bring true joy to the world

The television was on, but I wasn’t watching it.

I had the volume loud, simply to fill the silence in the house. I was just sitting there beside an empty chair trying not to think about anything.

Especially Christmas.

A few days after Thanksgiving, my husband entered the hospital during the time the world shut down and no visitors were allowed. I quarantined alone those long days and dark nights, sleeping with a phone in my hand and a prayer in my heart. A few weeks later, Randy died.

Then it was Christmas.

The first Christmas without Randy is a blank. They always tell you the first one is the hardest, but the second holiday season without him felt like it was the first.

Reality had set in, but my empty house and that empty chair still felt newly empty. I put up my tree but didn’t decorate it, and had no plans for Christmas cards because I didn’t know how to sign them in just my name.

Instead, I turned up the TV and tried not to think about the memories that now haunt the season.

That’s when the doorbell rang.

Not expecting anyone, I turned down the TV and flipped on the porch light before I opened the door. Standing at my stoop were a gaggle of young girls, along with adults I recognized waiting in the shadows. When the middle-school girls saw my surprised face, they stood up straighter and began to sing.

“O come all ye faithful … ”

My porch light cast a glow on the angelic faces of my Christmas carolers, their voices filling all the quiet spaces that a loud TV couldn’t reach. These children sang with such enthusiasm and without shyness, holding hands as they swayed to their tidings of good cheer. Their smiles were genuine, and their hope contagious.

“Santa Claus is coming to town … ”

My Christmas carolers did not stay long — they had places to go and songs to sing. I stumbled through a heartfelt thank you, then watched as the group ran off, giggling into the night and leaving behind a full heart in their wake. I shut the door and stood in the echo of their singing.

“We wish you a Merry Christmas … ”

Then I cried, not tears of grief or regret, but something much different. After that, I turned my tree on and my TV off. I found the Christmas CDs my husband played and played them.

I made lists and opened boxes and found the Christmas cards I’d bought and now planned to send. I filled Randy’s empty chair with bright lights, old ornaments, and a new outlook for the Christmas season.

It was my Christmas miracle.

For some, the holidays can seem as tangled and twisted as my string of Christmas lights. It feels wrong to participate in a season that isn’t the same, or it hurts to remember what you can’t change or get back.

I can relate to that.

I am sure my Christmas carolers had no idea what they really brought to me that night. Their sweet voices and wide smiles reminded me of all the holiday traditions my husband loved so much. That night, the spirit of Christmas stood at my door and, when I opened it, I was given the gift of song and a reason to feel joyful.

So thank you.

If you are one of those Christmas angels who spread joy in ways that has nothing to do with wrapping paper, thank you. If you send a note to someone who needs your words, if you drop off food for a family in a time of loss, or drive a van full of loud Christmas carolers to the quietest houses in town, thank you.

Somedays it might feel that the time you give doesn't matter; believe me when I tell you it does. It’s the smallest gestures of caring that make the greatest impact, leaving behind more than you can imagine.

“Joy to the world … ”

You can reach Lorry at lorrysstorys@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Storytime: Christmas carolers bring true joy to the world