Ready or not, Christmas is here. The mad rush to buy presents, decorate the house, cooks tons of food and mail Christmas cards is entering a fever pitch. In just a few days, the “Big Day” will be here.
I still have vivid childhood memories of Christmas Day while growing up in the central Georgia town of Monticello. It seemed Christmas Eve was always the toughest night to go to sleep.
No matter how many times I tossed and turned, flipped the pillow over or tried to force myself into dreamland, it was no use. (I suppose I should have tried reading a book as I recall back then that was a sure-fire way to make me go to dreamland.)
Eventually, Christmas morning would arrive, and I was always blessed with new items that would be the center of my attention — for a little while anyway.
Another part of Christmas morning I always enjoyed was the visit to my grandparents’ house located just down the road from where I grew up. The ritual Christmas morning visit to Pop and Nanny’s house is something I still remember, cherish and miss to this day.
The table would be full of all the right Southern breakfast items from scrambled eggs to biscuits to bacon. It simply couldn’t be beat.
Looking back now, however, I realize what I actually enjoyed more than the food was the family togetherness we shared. My grandparents, parents, brother, cousins and other family members were always there, along with additional guests each year.
In the future, let’s hope we can all make more time for our family and not just during the holiday season.
In today’s hectic, fast-paced society we can often forget those who are most important — our family. Unfortunately, family members take a back seat when we have to try and deal with our work-driven lifestyles.
As far as the weather goes, I still feel fortunate to live in a part of the country where we have at least a 50 percent chance of a good day on Dec. 25. While we’ve had to deal with some crummy weather of late, you can never completely rule out a day of sunny weather with a high in the 60s on Christmas. Nothing can beat Christmas in the South.
When the Christmas rush is finally over, we get to enjoy another holiday a few days later in New Year’s, a holiday which has become known (to me at least) for college football bowl games if nothing else. It’s a time when I try to squeeze in as many games as possible before the long, long winter drought without gridiron action to watch begins.
The long-winter drought for football junkies can be downright depressing (take it me someone who knows personally).
Football aside, with the new year comes a sense of hope for better times and better events ahead. I personally hope the new year will be a positive 12 months for everyone.
That’s what so great about beginning a new year. The old one, no matter how tough or trying, can be put behind us. When we flip the page on the calendar from December to January, high hopes for a prosperous new year can be felt.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.
Chris Bridges is an editor with Mainstreet Newspapers. You can reach him at chris@mainstreetnews.com.
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