Lighting up the dark

It snowed all afternoon and evening on Christmas eve, adding an extra deep layer to our white Christmas. The sky was bright and clear Christmas day and since Santa thought to drop off a few sleds with the other sweet surprises, we talked ourselves out of afternoon naps and walked to the nearby hill to sail down the packed runs along with others from the community. Fresh air and fun.

The best thing about Christmas is family. Besides sledding there were laughs, thoughtful gifts, fun entertainment, laughs, singing, talking on the phone, playing games, eating, more laughs.

It was only a little more than 24 hours that we shared, but it was rich.

The best thing about everything, when you think about it, is family.

Sometimes the world might be cold, sometimes it might be dark. But with family there is light, warmth and color.

And never a dull moment.

XOX to the gang.

Can she do it?

The trick about Christmas is making everybody happy. With the right gifts, the right food, the right entertainment, the right notes in the right cards, the right enthusiasm for the given gifts. And when I say everybody, I mean neighbors, kids, parents, spouse and friends.

This is an irrational feeling, I know, to imagine that something I might do or not do would have such an impact, but one that persists year after year.

The desire to make happy is one that takes every day from Thanksgiving on to accomplish, if it is accomplishable, and one that many in my situation share.

It is a labor that takes place in the mall, in the post office, in the kitchen, in the closet with the wrapping paper, in the bedroom where the lists of things to do spin in our heads when we would rather be sleeping.

Giving is something well associated with Christmas. Sacrifice is too. Making others happy is too. My work is a small, insignificant effort compared to the service done by Him whose birth we celebrate by all this temporal giving. His gifts are eternal. They bring not just happiness but peace.

A greater perspective can bring greater understanding and less stress.

But there's still a lot to do...