'Twas Just Before Christmas

'Twas just before Christmas
And all through my house
The cats chase each other
As if there were a mouse (which thank heavens there isn't!)

"So much left to get done,"
Says the voice in my head
When really all I want
Is to lay down in my bed.

The coughing and aching
I am still going through
Is past getting old
What am I to do?!?

And then at the moment
I feel most overcome
And stress levels rising
At what's still left to come

I remember the babe
For whom this day was created
The stress is all gone
And I'm feeling elated.

The presents to wrap
And deliver to friends
The cooking and baking
Which will come to and end,

They really don't matter
So things will be late,
My friends are understanding
And really quite great.

More important that boxes
Ribbons and bows
Are peace, love and kindness
Who can do without those?

As I post this note
To all whom may read
May I wish you best
Of the season indeed.

May we reflect,remember
And take a small pause
And remember it's not about
Dear old Mr. Claus . . .

But about the babe born in a stable
Who loved us enough
And giveq us the Atonement
To have peace when times may be rough

To lead us and guide us
And show us the way
That we may all live with Him
In heaven someday.

So Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
To all you out there
May your 2009 be simply beyond compare.

Oh Christmas Tree

I don't know what it is about Christmas lights . . . but I LOVE them! Maybe it's because they add to the magic of the season or maybe it's some deeper theological side of me using them as a metaphor for the Light of the World who's birth we celebrate this time of year . . . whatever the underlying factor is, they just make me happy. Whether it be a house all decked out to the point it looks like it could have been something Hansel & Gretel stumbled on to, to a beautiful nativity scene (like the one my grandparents had that now my cousin still puts up each year) or a Christmas Tree, I love them all. Wait, let me re-phrase that I love them all unless they are blinking to the point that they look like a swarm of some kind of bug crawling all over said house or tree.

When I was a child, one of my favorite things to do this time of year was to turn out all the lights except for the Christmas tree. Then I would just lay on the floor and soak in the season by Christmas light - and firelight (my parent's house has a fabulous fireplace) I loved to watch the light bounce off the ornaments and remember when and where some of the ornaments came from. My own tree is like that now. I try to collect an ornament as a keepsake from a special trip or occasion, or if one especially happens to catch my eye. I have an angel that my dad brought home for me from one of his duty weekends when he was in the Air Force Reserves. I was around 4 years old. It is without a doubt, one of my favorites. Then there's the plush Jack & Gus from Cinderella. When Cinderella was re-released in the theaters when my nieces and nephews were little, McDonalds was a proud to offer Cinderella's buddies in their Happy Meals. I remember on a shopping trip to Salt Lake we were all having happy meals trying to make sure each household had a set. There's a Nutcracker and a Clara ornament as well which were from my mom who knows when. One I simply had to have this year is one from Hallmark - it is a chimney, with Santa trying to cram a hippo down it. It plays "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas" (I LOVE that song!)

All I can say is its nice to know that as we get older (take note that I am actually admitting it) it's nice to know there are some things that have become a part of us from when we are little. Think I'll go have a cup of hot chocolate, sit by the tree and reminisce Happy Holidays!