Where I reflect on the season

This is the time for egg-nog, for brief periods of complete & utter frustration (I’m speaking, specifically, of dealing with Christmas lights), for sweaters (and sweater muffins), for wondrous smells & more-wondrous movies.

It’s the time where I question my faith . . . wishing I had more while wishing others could challenge theirs.

It’s the time where things grow so incredibly busy that you feel caught in a whirlwind…and this is a good thing, because, as you catch your breath, you have no choice but to reflect on those things that are truly important. Hopefully “playing video games” isn’t at the top of that list for you, nor is it at the absolute bottom.

This is the time for family — and to remember that “family” will always be just the way that you choose to define it.

This is the time for magic – be it that of a child who first “gets” Christmas, or how an obese man manages to visit millions of houses in a few short hours, or how an impossibly small collection of oil kept lamps lit for a week, or the way nature sighs as the amount of daylight in each day starts to grow, or the way your own heart lifts seeing the smile on another as they accept a gift, or the way my own smile grows as I put together Legos.

It’s a time for music, both great and horrible . . . and for songs which I will be certain to butcher the lyrics to as I sing them to my kids.

It’s a time to remember those whom we have loved & have lost . . . and to take time to ensure that we remember those people for their smiles. It’s impossible to not picture some of them as if they were still here, right now, knowing that they’d love being in the middle of the whirlwind.

It’s a time for gluttony, while thinking-of and acting-for those for whom gluttony will an impossibility.

This is the time to figure out what the heck a sugarplum is, and why they need fairies, and why nutcrackers the size of grown men aren’t the work of nightmares.

This is the time for peace – may you find some.

24 comments

  1. This is my youngest Christmas where she finally gets it. I was wondering if it would ever happen. So she is excited about every little thing. It’s awesome.
    Merry Early Christmas. Just a few days away. 🙂

  2. Those nutcrackers are pretty frightening. Even though I love seeing The Nutcracker Ballet. Not this year, though. 🙁

    Christmas is the time for excited children- and their excitement stops me from being a total grinch.

    1. I had a few Grinchy moments during the holiday . . . but, yeah, seeing the look of wonder on the kids’ faces wipes any of that away.

  3. This might be my favorite holiday post. Because yes. This is the time for all of this and more.

    To let our life go both in slow motion and hyper speed. While we simultaneously look back, forward, and in front of us.

    Wonderful post, sir.

    merry christmas.

    may your stocking be plentiful with legos.

    1. I got better than Legos in the stocking — a solar powered iPhone charger, so I don’t need to worry, as much, about losing power on long runs or rides.

      And thank you 🙂

    1. I should have put the caveat on the post that I was unlikely to get back to my own blog between then & Christmas.

      Thank you — and I hope that your Christmas was wonderful.

  4. Magically calorie free eating and drinking to you my friend. May the miles be short, the roads kind and the bed warm and welcoming.

    And much love and affection from me to you.

    And after all that can I get you to send a note to my husband about how wonderful I am?

    1. I do not want to think of the caloric damage that I did to myself over the past 4 days . . . intentionally poor choice followed by intentionally poor choice.

      And that love goes right back to you.

  5. Simply put, honestly written and yet sprinkled with humor. My kind of post.
    Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family, John. 🙂

    1. Don’t forget boobs – honestly written, sprinkled with humor, and referenced boobs . . . it’s not a “serious” post of mine if all three are not evident 🙂

      Trusting you & Daddy & Handsome had a truly magical holiday, Eve.

    1. Wow – that’s saying something . . . though this does have a bit more of my heart (and less of my funnybone, or penis, in it, than most of what I post) 🙂

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