It looks like it’ll be a white Merry Christmas for a lot of us. We’re getting a pretty good snow right now in fact.That’ll be nice, especially for the kids. Dad can take the kids outside for a little sledding and snowman building. It’ll keep everybody out of the kitchen so Mom and do the cooking. Sounds idyllic doesn’t it. Sort of like a Norman Rockwell painting. The reality of course will probably be something quite different.
When I was a kid Christmas was celebrated over at my aunt and uncle’s house on Christmas Eve. I don’t know how many adults were involved but I remember that one year there was something like 20 kids under the age of 12. They had a big house. They had a big tree too and there were presents for everybody. Those were the glory days for sure.
There is a lot to like about Christmas and there are a few things that are at least somewhat undesirable. I’ll start with the likeable items first. For many of us the whole point of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Hard to remember that sometimes. The snow covered landscape makes for some great painting and photography. Getting together with all the relatives can be an enjoyment or a time of unease depending. Usually if you spent Thanksgiving with one set, Christmas affords the opportunity to change to the other side. Sort of like half time I guess. Of course there are all the gifts to be bought and opened.
A part of Christmas I particularly like is although the start of winter is just a few days before, the best part of that is that the days start getting longer. I really like that and it is cause for celebration all by itself. The big plus for today however is that I can finally turn the Christmas music off down at the studio. I’m definitely not a “bah-humbug” kind of guy but I can only take “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” by Bing Crosby just so many times.
A couple of the undesirable aspects of the Holiday Season are many of the same things that make it special. The snow, the start of the official winter. The struggle to find that special something for that special someone. And then there are those long lines at the big box stores that you have to endure to return the something you got that’s the wrong color, wrong size or simply not to your liking. My solution for that specific issue is to not shop at the big box stores. But that’s just me. A really aggravating problem I have with Christmas, or any occasion in which a gift for my wife is required is the fact that I usually hide the item at the shop somewhere that she is unlikely to find it. This causes a difficult situation because of late I’ve forgotten where I hide these things. It’s probably with last year’s birthday gift or the lost one from the previous Christmas.
Hope Santa Claus found your house this morning. Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas.