This Christmas Eve

This day again, my favorite day of the year. Sitting here with My Beloved, the fire roaring as I sip a cheap glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Okay, who am I kidding? It's sixty degrees here this year. I was sweating my reindeer off on Christmas Eve day as I wrapped up the process.

In truth however, this day has become the holiday for me each year. The hustle and bustle are complete and our home is decorated with pine and trimmings. Each year it is a little different. We cherish treasured ornaments and decorations from our past while we add new touches to the house. My Beloved does the vast majority of the Santa duties and I offset that by putting up and out the decorations each year. It's a working balance.

Christmas makes its statement to each one of us in its own special way, and as we grow older our views change and adapt. Christmas Day is for the children and the more I am around my grandsons the more that is refreshed within. I would gladly trade any gift I could or would receive to see their faces light up when they see the tree and what Santa has brought.

There will always be a religious element in our home as that is how I was raised. Christ's birth is the true meaning though I do not begrudge those who have come to take on a different outlook in this overly-commercialized season. I have come to terms with that and I believe most do as we grow older. My family comes first and that is the blessing that is bestowed upon me each and every day.

In these final hours before the magic of Christmas Eve, when the clock strikes midnight and the work of elves and a particular poignant fellow begins, I would like to wish everyone who reads this ramble a truly joyous and Merry Christmas. May you be blessed with joy and fellowship that pursue you throughout the coming year.

Now for my Christmas list ... oh, never mind. It's probably too late for all that.