It's been hard for me to get in the holiday spirit the last couple years. It's not because of the lack of Salvation Army Santas at Target, or the absence of "Christmas" greetings at my retail stores of choice. It certainly has nothing to do with President Bush not wishing folks a merry christmas on the White House Christmas card.
I think the problem is that I live in Texas. Right now, I live in Houston, which averages approximately negative 2 inches of snow per year. Before Houston, I lived in San Angelo, which, quiet and relatively crime-free as it may be, is pretty much the back hair of Texas. You know it exists, but you don't want to spend too much time dwelling on it.
I miss the changes of seasons. I like snow, snowball fights, snow forts (not that I ever built one more than about a foot high), sledding, skiing, walking in the snow. There's something about the first snow of the year that really brings the holiday season about for me.
Fortunately, I have an alternative to being grumpy about Christmas. I get to enjoy Christmas through my children. There are few things in this world more rewarding than watching a child get all excited looking at a Christmas tree on December 25 and seeing all those gifts underneath just waiting to be opened. It's one of the few unmitigated pleasures reserved in this world anymore, and this year, I get to enjoy three kids finding the joy of Christmas.
Now, if I could combine the two, that would be the gravy.
2 comments:
When I was a kid in Fort Worth, a very long time ago, we actually had so much snow, of the right kind for packing, that my dad built an igloo for us. (He was from Minnesota.) It was structurally sound enough for me to sit on top of it. We've had many ice storms since then, but that was the best snow I ever experienced in central Texas; (it was pre-global warming, of course).
Christmas is definately an enriching experience when seen through the eyes of a child.
Steve it's 100dgs here, i wish Amy would send me an igloo!!
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