Moments

I'm headed out in the morning for Canyon, so I thought I'd go ahead and post early...

I can't say that I remember Christmas gifts very well. If you asked me to name as many Christmas presents as I could think of that I've received over the years, I probably would only be able to come up with a handful. Those just aren't the kind of details I remember well. But I do recall Christmas moments over the years. There were the early, early years when the Christmas tree was set-up on the stairs in our humble little abode, the Christmas party we hosted every year as youngsters for all our cousins and friends, the traditions of decorating the tree (a real one) as soon as Mom got the thumbprint cookies iced, caroling with the youth group, gingerbread cookies with M, sausage balls and orange juice every Christmas morning, the 25-day countdown calendar with a little surprise each morning, the ridiculous notion I had in junior high/high school that I needed to be fully dressed with my hair done before we could open packages Christmas morning, the year we got a wild crazy hair and drove to a little cabin in Oklahoma for holiday time, a trip to Ruidoso armed with sleds, Christmas Eve wrapping parties, and the list goes on.

I have to say, I like that Christmas is about moments to me. I like that I grew up in a home that celebrated the season and the joy of giving above getting. Christmas has changed for our family over the years, as it always does when kids grow up and move away. And this year, we find it changing yet again. But I like to think that those 'moments' will always happen. They will shift and evolve as life happens, but they will be no less special. And they will be even more special to me this year as I think about so many who don't get to share moments with those they love.

Be blessed this weekend.

And maybe, just maybe you will find fireman hats and matching red tricycles underneath your tree. If you were extra good this year, perhaps there will also be a package with your name on it that holds Rainbow Brite and Twink. :)