Stars Aligned

The stars suspended inside the Time Warner Media Center change colors, from red to purple to pink to blue, all through the holidays, visible through the glass facade from Central Park, from the cars crawling around Columbus Circle, the colors dancing to Christmas music above the heads of shoppers. My daughter and I used to like to do our Christmas shopping there. It was never quite as insane as other shopping malls, and we could find all manner of gifts in the Borders bookstore, where we used to take a break and drink hot mulled cider and people watch. But now the bookstore is closed down, and so are other storefronts, making the whole second floor look shiny and forlorn. I think we'll shop elsewhere this year. Maybe we'll just stay in our neighborhood. I'm in the mood for a very quiet and low-key Christmas, just the family, puttering indoors, making a fine meal together. My daughter, when she was home last weekend, made her dad promise he would wait till she got back home after final exams to put up the tree. This is how it usually is. My husband and daughter bring home, set up and trim the tree while my son and I lounge on the couches and point out spaces in the light strings and baubles, maybe raising a cup of egg nog but lifting barely a finger otherwise. And everyone's happy, temperaments aligned.