Christmas

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Day (December 25th, 2004) the biggest celebration of the year. Are you celebrating the birth of Christ? Are you celebrating the exchange of gifts? Or are you just happy to have a few days off from work? :-) Whatever the case, I hope you are enjoying it. I am sitting here watching "The Sound of Music. Believe it or not, for the first time all the way through! :-)... Girlfriends... They get you to do the strangest things. There sure is a lot of singing in this flick! I know this movie has been around for awhile, but I did not realize it was based on a real family and a real story. I learned something new today! I also learned that when your girlfriend says "Let's not exchange gifts this year for Christmas because we are tight on cash..." that does NOT mean she does not expect gifts, nor will she NOT get you anything. So basically if you hear this, ignore it, or better yet, be SURE to get her some gifts. She WILL be getting you some! Christmas is a time that many people reflect on the past, and sometimes that reflection isn't a pretty sight. I personally get a little down during the holidays. I don't know how common that is, hopefully it's not. I hope most people reflect fondly on their memories, and remember the good things that they have experienced. Well I better get home, and wrap the presents... Yeah, I wait until Christmas Eve to wrap... It's become a tradition for me.

Lazy?

Well, it's December. You know what that means right? If you live in the United States or some other country that has the internet (oh that's right, you must or you would be unable to read this), then you know it is the Christmas Season. So let me say to you:

If you are part of the "politically correct" crowd, then ignore that previous statement and I say to you:

I wouldn't want to offend you with my religious beliefs in this country of freedom by wishing to you a happy day on December 25th (also known as CHRISTMAS!).

Ok now that I have gotten that out of the way let's get down to business, or whatever...

I am finding it difficult to get into the holiday spirit this year, and I am not sure why. It could be any number of things such as:

1. The very, very tight fund (money) situation this year.
2. The recent media bonaza called the presidential election.
3. The stress of completing a major project at work.
4. The current political climate surrounding this holiday that can not even be mentioned in a public setting, without fear of offending someone.
5. My growing apathy because for years I see "Xmas" instead of "Christmas". As if Christ wasn't really the reason for the holiday... Just take that "X" and fill it with whatever you want. The holiday is about the birth of a savior right? (sorry about the side track)
6. Or, I am just lazy.

I mean, Christmas does entail a lot of work right? There are Christmas cards to fill out and send, gifts to purchase, house to decorate, evergreen trees to trim, secrets to keep, food to prepare, family to visit, travel plans to make, and many, many other things to do to prepare for this wonderful holiday.

I wonder if I am the only one that feels this way this year? I drive down the streets of my home town, and I see the lights, and the decorations. I hear the holiday music on the radio. I deal with the increased traffic around my work as people shop. As I see, hear, and deal with all of these things, I begin to feel that I am the only one that has not gotten the spirit yet Maybe I should just say "Bah, Humbug!" nay, maybe instead I will just purchase an inflatable likeness of the Grinch! NOT!

Instead I will decorate, even if it's not until Christmas eve. I may even get a bigger tree this year, since my youngest feels that a bigger tree means bigger presents. I will forgo paying a few bills so I can come up with the funds to pay for the gifts for my kids, family and friends. And I will hope that by the time December 25th arrives, I will have found the spirit. If not well at least I tried!