When kids are running about and laughing without a parent hovering over them, I take notice. It is not a common sight these days.

I grew up in the Hill Country in a neighborhood where all of us kids would run around with no parental supervision. We would make up our own games, embark on great adventures and build fantasy worlds. We donned old stakes of wood and pretended they were Narnian swords. We had secret clubhouses in the woods.

Since those childhood days, I have lived in a couple of different large cities. The traffic moved too fast to leave your child unattended for very long, and just about every stranger was treated with initial suspicion.

This week, I attended the Weihnachtszeit on Tuesday, Nov. 22 for the kickoff of the Nights of Lights, a small-town Christmas celebration at Marktplatz that abounds with countless twinkling lights, Christmas trees of all sorts, ice skating, hot chocolate and a Christmas train that serves as a climbing village for the kids.

My three-year-old daughter, Remi, headed straight for the miniature train when we arrived on the square. The next hour was a blur as I tried to keep up while she ran around and climbed with strangers, many of whom were doing the same.

I have lived in Fredericksburg for several years and grew up spending holidays in this town. I have seen it change beyond description since my childhood.

However, when more than 100 families gather in the middle of town to watch our beautiful Christmas lights burst into the cool November evening, I recognize how blessed I am to be in a town such as ours.

Remi never really slowed down. She ran around the eye-catching two-story tall Christmas tree joining a parade of running children. She knew none of them. I was not worried. I smiled and gave her the space to have her fun.

In only a short time, many of those same families will gather on the sidewalks of Main Street to watch the Light the Night Christmas Parade. We will watch our friends, coworkers and family members board on floats, march, sing and smile.

The website for the Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau says, “Fredericksburg during Weihnachtszeit, or the Christmas Season, has often been compared to a holiday Hallmark movie and with good reason.”

That statement may be accurate, but I remind myself that communities like Fredericksburg came first, and at best, a Hallmark movie only attempts to capture the magic of the place where you and I live every day.

I don’t know what the future will hold for Fredericksburg. None of us know what may be coming.

But I do know that here and now, I have an opportunity to experience a Christmas that most people only see in a movie. I get to live in it.

brent@fredericksburgstandard.com