One Man’s Opinion column: Christmas is here so enjoy it
AL STEINZ
To quote a former world-renown Cub’s broadcaster "hello again everybody." It has come to that time of the year again. It’s time to go out and get the old pine needle in the carpet supplier and spend two days trying to get it straight in it’s stand. Time to go out, fight numerous amounts of people crowded into the malls and retail stores, and spend a countless number of dollars (countless until the credit card bills roll in) on gifts that won’t be used or played with three weeks after giving them.
Time to have that same family, whose house you went to on Thanksgiving, over for another ham and turkey dinner at your house. Time to pull out the strings of lights and lawn ornaments, drive endless amounts of staples into the siding of the house, and compete for the electric company’s customer of the month.
Yes that’s right, it’s Christmas time. Time for store displays before Halloween, fad toys of the year, countless sales flyers and department store catalogues (hey guys remember the ladies undergarment section when you were younger), and that’s all I am going to say about that (besides I think I said enough already). I hope you get the picture.
I am not going to go any further with ripping the holiday apart. I could, but I won’t. I like Christmas too much to do that. I enjoy the sights and sounds of the season. I enjoy going out with the family each year (12 years and running) to Holoker’s tree farm and hunting down the perfect tree (if there is such a thing in existence).
I enjoy the effort people put into decorating their houses to make their neighborhoods more festive. I enjoy a roaring fireplace, a good cup of hot chocolate, and a warm body to snuggle up to (hi hon) on those cold nights. I enjoy the small town Christmas walks and the way everyone puts on their festive faces and greets each other with a smile and a warm heart.
I enjoy going to Chicago and looking at the window displays and then to Brookfield Zoo to carol to the animals amongst endless streams of holiday lighting (it’s a thousand times better if it snows). I enjoy seeing my children’s faces as they try and figure out why there are 25 different Santa Clauses on a big city street. I enjoy the smell of Christmas cookies baking. I enjoy listening to my children trying to figure out how many cookies they should leave for Santa.
I enjoy the morning of Christmas and the look on my children’s faces as they rip through the packages that took three weeks to wrap (okay so maybe it was only two weeks). I enjoy the fact that my children don’t ask for the fad of the year toys and are happy with what they get. Yes, I even enjoy the snow (who cares if it has to be shoveled; it’s a good form of exercise if you don’t over do it, besides, I own a snow blower).
Speaking of snow, have you ever just decided to get up one night during a snowfall and watch it come down, or better yet go for a walk and look at all the neighborhood lights. (you get double the points if that someone special is with you)? The snow has a way of making everything that appears so blah on a daily basis look different. Everything turns such a pure color white; words would not do its beauty any justice. It’s just a sight that needs to be seen and enjoyed.
Did I mention that you also get the chance to act like a kid again? Come on, tell me you don’t enjoy making that snowman, snow angel, or just a good old-fashioned snowball (did I forget to mention the sledding possibilities).
So do you understand why I couldn’t rip into the season? These are my thoughts on the Christmas holiday. These are the things inside me that I can keep forever and no one else can take them from me (best of all they don’t cost very much).
I hope that you and yours have a very merry, safe, and happy holiday season. See you next semester.
Later.