Christmas!

In a few hours I get out of jail and go home to my family for Christmas! It was hard leaving last night and coming to work. I had to sleep all day, and the evening festivities were just getting started. I had time to grab a sandwich and be off.

This will be my 55th Christmas. After having my gall bladder removed and the episode where the doctors thought I had a tumor in my head I don't count the passing years lightly. These days and months and years have been a gift. Indeed, they have always been a gift.

I still struggle with how to "seize the day" and "live all of the days of your life." Most of life is mundane, and that can't be avoided. How to turn each step into a celebration is something I have yet to learn. I have, however, become better at appreciating the high points.

Christmas is one of those high points. It comes once each year. It has a lot of tradition and history. It is shared by multitudes, and so is a common point for many people. I have come to love Christmas for the magic it represents, both in its secular and religious significance.

A big part of my participation is anticipation. Now that anticipation is almost ended. In a few hours all of the Christmas season will have been realized for another year. It does not make me sad. I have lived another year. I now can begin looking forward to my 56th Christmas.

But not yet. Soon, I go to my family and rejoice with them.