Christmastime is here

Growing up, we always had the entire house decorated for Christmas. My mom had one of those Christmas village things, where there are people skating and buildings made of ceramic or something like that. My mom was a crafty person. We had all sorts of painted and handmade decorations. The ornaments on our tree spanned from decidedly unique (Santa golfing) to homemade (the train I painted in first grade) to standard (polar bears drinking coca cola). I remember the day my parents switched to a fake Christmas tree; it was like blasphemy. I felt betrayed. Then it became the norm and I stopped being a wuss.

Why is this relevant? Well, as a newly married couple we at the moment have decorations that wouldn't even take two hands to count. We have an advent calendar, four snow globes (Becky collects those and has more somewhere I suppose), a Christmas bear, and two nativity sets. Now, I'm not saying that I think we deserve more, because, as I said, we have been married less than three years. We'll slowly build up our reserve.

What I am kind of saying is, however, that there's something about surrounding yourself with reminders of the season that completes it. Our decorations are all up, and unless you look to notice them they may not even be noticed. Obviously once we get our Christmas tree things will be more festive, but for the moment it feels kind of like it did a few weeks ago.

We've all had those years (at least I've most definitely had those years) where it just doesn't feel like the holidays. Now, that shouldn't truly be a big problem, but those years I kind of feel cheated. There's something about the feeling that I get at Christmas that makes it special. I look forward to it. Call it the light of Christ, call it excitement for giving those I care about something I know will bring them joy, call it whatever you will. It just feels good.

What does this have to do with anything you ask? Well, I'll tell you. We're getting our Christmas tree today and we're setting it up. We're going to listen to Christmas music, we may go shopping to pick up a few last minute things. In short, I'm going to be happy. I'm going to spend time with my family, which is the most important thing I have. And I urge you to do the best you can to do the same. Life is hard, but it is also so good in so many ways.