To write about Christmas and the memories I have of it is pretty darn tough. There are so many memories and all are different bases on the stage of my life. Do I talk about waking up as a child, smelling the crisp clean smell of new snow at 5 am in the morning while wondering how Santa made it in and out without my notice? Do I talk about the years of waking my parents well before they had hoped year after year? How about my parents reaction to the opening of presents. Man, as a kid there are so many little memories you can go with. You can talk about the family that you shared your holidays with along with the friends that didn’t have their own dinner to attend that spent the day with you and your family.
Do I talk about the teenage excitement over the new PlayStation game i have been begging for over the last 3 months or the new instrument that i never truly learned how to play. I could talk about the terrible wardrobe choices that i have made over the holidays (Think about your teens, we really thought that was a good look).
Do we switch gears and go to the coolest toys ever received during Christmas time. Is this were we hash up old memories like the metal transformers that took our parents 2 hours to transform but myself just seconds. How about the HUGE G. I. Joe battle base or do we talk about the He-man Castle I received. What if I sent this whole article writing about the pure excitement I had when I opened up the Millennium Falcon and all of the rest of the Star Wars toys I received that year. I think that could bring back a few memories for the reader but it just doesn’t feel like the right story. With the current economy and the feel of the general public, maybe capitalism’s victories over us using retail isn’t the angle we want this year.
I think for me it is the family. One two time a year does the whole family meet in one place and it doesn’t matter the schedule. Where for just one day brothers who have grown to be professionals in their careers can act like kids again. One year we watched a Louie Anderson comedy show and the one lines hold at our dinner table to this day. It doesn’t matter if you live in DC or Flint Michigan we would all take the trip back home to be around that table and for one more day we were us again. Christmas gives me the time to reflect on all of the memories of Christmas, the good ones and the bad ones. It allows me to remember how darn lucky we are even if everything else if falling around you. It’s not about the toys and gifts or the expensive dinners, it’s about the company. You and the people you love, no pressure, no commitments, just years of great memories to re-share with each other and the time to create new ones.
No matter how much Wal-Mart, Hallmark and other companies try to cheapen my holiday experience, my holiday is filled with love and warmth and for the family reading this now, see you soon, can’t wait and i love you.