It was love at first light.

I began as an apprentice. During my first year at the Ledger-Enquirer, I sat in the back seat while our team drove across the Chattahoochee Valley evaluating homes for the newspaper’s annual holiday lights project.

We got lost. Got cold. Struggled to find synonyms for “beautiful.” Immediately, I was smitten with the process.

So much, in fact, that this will be my fifth year writing about local light displays. If you’d like me to visit your home, send me an email at ssorich@ledger-enquirer.com by Dec. 8.

I’ll dedicate approximately five hours on a weekend to touring the homes on my list. It’s not a simple process.

I give my boyfriend the addresses 24 hours in advance so he can plot them on a map. We do most of the work on a Saturday night. We start at a coffee shop and end at one of our favorite local restaurants, where we debate the merits of inflatable characters versus plastic figurines.

Thanks to various improvements over the years, we’ve made touring local light displays both an art and a science.

And somewhere along the way, I stopped viewing the local decorators as Griswolds in training and started viewing them as friends.

With the passage of time, seemingly impersonal addresses attracted memories of holiday cheer.

I can’t hear “Ascot Way” without thinking of a house that boasts a beautiful roof display on that street. I can’t hear “Cheyenne Road” without thinking of an enchanting Santa’s workshop scene.

I can’t hear “Independence Drive” without thinking about the nearly 100 vintage plastic blow molds that decorate the Haught family’s home.

“It’s not Christmas until we put the blow molds out,” said Melanie Haught, 52, who lives at 6359 Independence Drive in Columbus. “People will stop and take pictures.”

Then, there’s Jerry Ludy, who my boyfriend calls the local “Godfather of Christmas.” The Ludy Family Christmas Light Spectacular, located at 5784 Ironstone Drive in Columbus, boasts over 100,000 lights. Jerry Ludy started setting up this year’s display in August.

Sure, he’ll talk about the display’s mechanical intricacies. Yet it’s clear Ludy’s main passion centers on the emotions his decorations generate.

“It kind of brings it home to them and they start feeling that spirit of Christmas in their hearts. It’s a tradition,” Ludy, 57, told me in a recent interview.

Barbara Taylor calls it a ministry.

She said her display at 3629 Dunhill Drive in Columbus attracts between 1,200 and 1,300 visitors each year, some of whom are moved to tears by Taylor’s decorations.

“Sometimes we stand and cry together,” Taylor, 69, said.

Like other decorators, Taylor can’t talk about her lights without thanking her family members who help with the interior and exterior decorations -- her husband George and daughter, Annette Glenn.

But it’s clear her concept of family extends to the people who marvel at her lights.

“These are strangers and when we meet, you can just feel the warmth and the love running heart to heart,” said Taylor, who expects to have this year’s display ready Dec. 1.

Before immersing myself in the emotion pull of local decorations, I looked at extreme holiday displays and was merely blinded by lights.

Now, I’m blinded by love.

Sonya Sorich, reporter, can be reached at ssorich@ledger-enquirer.com or 706-571-8516.