"THE HOLIDAYS"

What's your favorite holiday? As a child - there was no contest! Christmas! And not for any spiritual reasons at all. No - Christmas was the big day for presents! In my first home we went from rags to riches. In the beginning - little gifts for little girls was the rule. As we grew - the biggest present I ever got was a doll carriage and doll. It just happened to be 1941 and Hitler had marched into Poland and before we knew it - we were at war with Germany. I remember asking my mom if Hitler would be coming to New YOrk on Christmas eve. And she said "Of course he will! He might be here before morning!" That was my mother's idea of humor. Little did she know that she sent her baby to bed in tears - for fear that he'd really like to have my carriage and doll!

As I grew older, I became very interested in Jesus Christ. Who is He? Who tells the best stories about Him? Who really knows what the Bible is all about? At sixteen, I started my own pilgrimage to find Him. I took a spiral bound notebook to many different churches and wrote my impressions of each one. How I wish I had that notebook now!

I think I responded to altar calls in every church I attended because I was so sure that I was such a terrible sinner. But along the way, I did begin to really understand that Christmas was a Holy Day rather than a Holiday. So the presents, although nice, didn't dominate my thoughts anymore.

Throughout the marriage years - children years - celebration times, we tried to emphasize the importance of Christmas as a day of celebration for the birth of our Savior. You'll have to check with the kids to see if that message got through.

But now, in our twilight years, we earnestly try to help our offspring understand that presents, as thoughtful as they were, are no longer the delight that they once were. We have everything that we need - and more. We would much more enjoy their spending their limited resources on each other and their little ones. Economic times are tough! (Tip: Walmart is selling all their toys at a very large discount to help young families - and they're not all made in China.) So, once again, I plead with you that you save your cash for the kids and your friends. We delight in being with our loved ones - the hugs and the smooches do it for us.

But I repeat my question. What's your favorite holiday? I honestly don't know how to answer that myself. There are blessings in all of our excuses to see each other. I'm not a big cheerer for some of the political days of note, but I'm sure they mean a lot to some.

Anyway - this year I intend to make each day a holiday of sorts, because we have so much celebration in our lives. We're looking forward to welcoming our 14th great grandchild in March, being grateful for JT's new job, enjoying vicariously Wes and Kim's new cabin in the woods, Matthew's full recovery from his cancer, Susie's return to the Iowa Cafe as floor manager, Barb's finally getting a job that she loves in the hospital, and all of our grandkids milestones, and the great grandkids first steps, first words of recognition (Lily called me GG for the first time this week! What a thrill!) and all the delights that they bring.

So! For me every day is a holiday - and they're all very special to my dear husband and me.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! And a very blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration.