No, I haven't ingested some of Colorado's most famous brownies. Nor have I taken the sort of trip that requires a chemist instead of a travel agent ... I think. After all, looking around town this Christmas, it's kind of hard to tell.

You see, Missy loves Christmas lights. And Heather and I love Missy. So three or four times a week during the holiday season, I'll grab the car keys and set off to explore the latest Holiday Extravaganza™. Each night, we hit a different part of town, so that by Christmas Day, we have covered Longmont more thoroughly than the blizzard of '82.

Sometimes we actually go out with a plan. But usually, we just pick a starting point and then follow the glow wherever it leads, like modern-day magi in a Hyundai Sonata.

And oh, my, has there been a LOT of glow to follow this year!

Legions of Grinches. Santas by the score. A mob of Minions. We're not quite on the scale of 2020 yet - the year when a housebound populace made Longmont visible from the Moon - but it's getting pretty close. And more than a little surreal.

The flashing lights have kicked into high speed and Day-Glo radiance, warming the cockles of my heart (and tickling the neurons of my epileptic brain).Two-story snowmen have been vying for space with Snoopy, the Nativity and an array of props from helicopters to outhouses.

Penguins abound, making me wonder if Santa has gone South for the winter. But considering how many dragons, dinosaurs and unicorns are popping up, what's a few tuxedoed birds among friends?

It's exuberant. Extravagant. Bizarre. Mind-boggling. And yes ... outright kid-level fun with a capital "Whoo!"

But what's most amazing of all is how something so bright and gaudy can ambush you so thoroughly. One minute, you're on a darkened block ... and then you turn a corner and oh, my, does that dark street shineth!

But then, that's how joy works, doesn't it?

We have a bad habit of conflating joy with happiness. It's understandable. They often ride similar roads, and provide a much-needed light on the way.

But as Charlie Brown knew all too well, happiness is fragile. A change in circumstances can pull it down more quickly than an oversized ornament on a baby Christmas tree. Joy tends to be more lasting ... but also a little more chaotic.

Joy likes to ambush you with the unexpected.

Oh, you can prepare the ground. In fact, you probably should. You don't see wonders in the sky if you don't look up, any more than you see holiday T-Rexes if you don't drive around. But you can't count on when the vision will appear or what it will show you - just that when it comes, it's going to leave a lasting impression.

In that sense, joy is always paired with hope. Hope looks ahead and gets ready for what could be ... and then joy claims the ground.

If it hasn't hit you yet, don't worry. No one's grading you on holiday cheer. Remember, joy chooses its own time - it's not a personal failing if you haven't met up yet.

But what we can do is stay open to the possibility. And do what we can to be joy for other people - the unexpected and welcome presence. (As opposed to unexpected and welcome presents, the other great holiday tradition.)

If we can do that much, we can light the night for all of us.

And if that light includes a runaway triceratops, so much the better.