ArcaMax

As someone who's not yet addicted to six-second videos but who nevertheless can't name most trees, I can't be too hard on Vine addicts or on people who can't name trees, but I know what she meant.

The older I get, the more I realize how many details of the natural world I've ignored in my rush to get from here to there, and how thrilling the details are when I do see them.

What are the names of the trees?

Is it possible to notice the instant that the drizzle stops?

What exactly is the color of the sky?

Who has time for such questions in the rush of daily life?

For many people, life speeds up even more during the holidays. So much to do. The shopping, the wrapping, the getting, the spending, the partying, the parking. All of that on top of the ordinary to'ing and fro'ing and staying alive.

My friend had a holiday party to get to, and after a couple more minutes on the topic of trees, we agreed it was time to move along.

Before we did, she looked at the sky, the kind of December sky that never seems to wake up.

She said she loved this time of year because the days got darker and darker, moving toward the solstice, which meant we'd soon be moving back into the light.

Then she said, again, that there must be more important things to talk about.

No, I assured her, again. There really weren't.

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Mary Schmich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune, is filling in for Clarence this week. Contact her at mschmich@tribune.com. You can follow her on twitter.com/maryschmich or contact her on facebook.com/maryschmich

(c) 2014 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.