Alyssa seeing the Christmas tree lit up for the first time (and the inspiration for this pre-Xmas post)
Can you believe it?! Christmas in 3 weeks…. 3 WEEKS!!! I can’t wait! There’s just something about this time of year that brings a smile to my face…I ABSOLUTELY love it! The lights, the christmas music that KOST 103.5 bumps right after thanksgiving (yes…I really do bump it in my car), the smells, the food, the anticipation. It really is my favorite time of year and brings back so many fond memories of family, friends, and quirky little Holiday traditions that make sense to probably no one else except for the people in my family. Nevertheless, it’s ALMOST CHRISTMAS!
Every year though, for some reason or another, it seems as if Christmas gets a little more stressful. Maybe it’s the responsibility of being an adult, or that you become more aware in the planning of x-mas that you want it to go well, or maybe it’s just the fear and anticipation of another year coming to an end. Whatever it is, for some reason or another, I keep thinking of the good old days…you know, when all you had to do was just open presents? How sweet was that?!? Do I sound bitter? Angry? Hopefully not…but things have definitely changed. For the past couple of years, I’ve been the one wheeling and dealing the hard-earned money; waiting in line at toys r us, waking up at 5am to get a 10% discount, and staying up late to wrap presents so no one can take away that moment from me (you know, that moment when you get to see the expression on someone’s face when they open their presents for the first time and got EXACTLY what they wanted). What happened to the days when someone else did that for me? You know, the good old days when you just rolled outta bed, drank the already-prepared warm hot chocolate, and opened up presents like you were trying to win a race? Long gone…
In any case, a friend of mine asked me the other day how it happened that we went from being kids to just plain old adults…and it got me thinking. How did that happen? She reminded me of what she remembered as a kid: that it was fun; not a worry in the world (except the 2 seconds before you had to go pee and can’t seem to find mommy/daddy to take you to the bathroom). I see my nieces and nephews, and I really think thats true (probably all of it). Christmas somewhere down the lines just changed with time and I can’t exactly pinpoint when it happened. When I got a job? When my sister decided to pop out 4 kids from her uterus? I guess as we grow older, the true meaning of Christmas really just starts to make sense….and Christmas at some point just stops becoming less about us, and more about the people we care about. That being the case though, I don’t think Christmas ever loses it’s magic. It brings out the best in a lot of us, which no other time of year can really do. For me, that magic starts every time I light up a X-mas tree each year! So the countdown begins….24 days and counting!
Christmas tree – Nov 28, 2009