Tonight (Christmas Eve) I watched as the deputies I supervise continued, as the professionals they are, to do their jobs with no complaint, not a sound, upbeat, helping each other out. I dropped by their various work sites and sent some of them home early, so they could be with their families. My priority was to send home, as early as I could afford, those deputies with young children at home.
Because, absent the deep religious aspect, Christmas is for kids.
I can remember, being 6 or 7 or so, how I would help Mom put up the Christmas tree. At the time, most everyone had live Christmas trees. You would go to the local lot and select your favorite. If you were rich or strange you got a flocked tree. My best friend, Randy, his family always got a flocked tree. It was covered with some kind of unknown white material intended, I could only guess, to mimic snow. His family was always more avant-garde.
I was mystified by the Christmas tree. It was huge, green, fresh, had a wonderful pine smell like no other time of the year. We would hang lights, the kind with the huge, hot bulbs, and then drape the branches and needles with tinsel. The best tinsel was the kind you could mold into a big ball when the tree came down; it was lead. The light, fluffy tinsel was cheap. I hated it.
I would sit, at night, just before Christmas, in the den, in the dark, watching the lights. They didn’t flicker or blink, they just captivated. I would wonder: which are my presents? What is it? I would covertly try to pick up a present and shake it, gauge its weight.
Christmas was wonderful. It was stellar.
It was for kids.
Ah, memories.
So, so many years ago.
BZ
Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Have a splendid Christmas.
Merry Christmas BZ!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours on this day Sir!
NEO, Shoprat, WoFat (hey, welcome aboard and thanks for reading, thanks for taking the time to comment!), KurtP (thanks for the return visits!) and Old NFO (thanks for starting!):
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, and thanks for stopping by my little pinpoint in the Blogosphere!
BZ
I remember that sort of tinsel! I hope you have a wonderful day.
cjh
http://www.youtube.com/user/Windrider21312#p/a/u/1/a_VcxnF0_gs
Merry Christmas
CJ: thanks for visiting on Christmas!
Tim: good to see you, you are always welcome here.
BZ
Thank you for the memories. I had forgotten how hot those bulbs could get and I DO remember the old time tinsel… And yes, there is no better smell than the smell of a “real” Christmas tree. Unfortunately, I haven’t smelled it for several, several years.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Sue: thank you for visiting, for commenting, and please come back!
Merry Christmas!
BZ
Oh, I loved this. Thanks for writing like this, BZ..
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.
And thanks for mentioning my video at Law & Order’s place; that was so nice of you.
xxx Z
Merry Christmas to you Z, and God bless; the times are turbulent and the waters deep and cloudy. Navigating them will be trying and emotional. We simply have to do it.
BZ
Hope you had a great Christmas. This year was a tradition breaker for me as my kids are 18 and 14 they met me at the mall and I took them shopping no presents this year. With the economy I was not able to get much and I only bought for the kids and a few special people in my life.
While our president spent 4,000 a night for the holidays I with many others struggled to keep Christmas alive for the kids.
Again thanks for the great insights you have. Happy New Year!!!!
Well, Country Girl, look at YOU! Great to see you here, thanks for visiting, thanks for taking the time to comment and please come back!
If you think 2009 was a craaaaazy year, you just wait to see what 2010 has in store for us ALL!!
BZ