Blogmas Challenge…

I’ve been following a few new blogs that are participating in Blogmas (a Christmas themed post every day until Christmas). I have actually enjoyed many of the entries and some have inspired blog posts from me. I’m not sure that I could participate in it every day because there are topics I don’t think I could write about.

Recently, a few of the bloggers posted their Top 5, Top 10, or Top 20 favorite Christmas songs. I commented on some of the lists and have often thought about doing my own list. As a matter of fact, one of those bloggers said she would love to read my list if I posted it. I’m not sure I can make that happen.

How do I pick just 10 songs? I love Christmas music! Don’t believe me? Well, I have a huge bin/tub in my basement with nothing but Christmas CDs in it!

Hundreds of CDs with various Christmas songs are stored in this bin! Many of my favorites I have transferred to digital (because when I DJ’d Christmas parties, I got sick of taking the whole bin with me). Out of all of these songs, there are plenty of stand outs, but can I really narrow it down to 10 or 20?

I’m not sure, but I’m considering the challenge. I have 9 days to tackle it….stay tuned.

Santa and Snowballs

Hard to believe that we are just 10 days away from Christmas! The past four days have been full of pre-holiday fun!

On Saturday, AJ turned two months old. It seems like I just posted about his birth, but here we are 2 months later. It’s been fun to watch his personality start to come through. He is cooing a lot now and we are starting to get smiles from him. My wife, who always gets the cutest clothes for our kids, had the perfect outfit for his two month photo shoot.

Originally, those PJ’s were supposed to be used in the Christmas pictures we had taken. We weren’t allowed any outfit changes there, so we just used the sweaters that the kids had.

Ella also had a pair of Christmas PJ’s that she was going to wear for pictures, as well as a very cute dress. We actually had her put the dress on one day and I got a couple nice pictures. It didn’t take long for her to express her dislike of the dress, however, and she took it off. We’re not sure if it was the frill on it or what, but I’m glad we got at least a few pictures in it.

We decided that we were going to take the kids to get their picture with Santa. We weren’t really sure about going to the mall and waiting in line and all that. We saw where Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops had a contact-free Santa photo opportunity and jumped on it. We made an appointment online and it was a very quick process.

I guess we thought that there would be a chair next to Santa, and we hoped that Ella would be able to hold her brother in it. There was a bench, however, and neither of us was comfortable with Ella holding AJ on it. So we all got to be in the picture! Even though Sam and I weren’t necessarily dressed for it, the picture came out ok. Best thing about it – it was free!

The highlight of the past few days has to be yesterday. Sam’s mom bought Ella some “indoor snowballs,” to play with.

They are basically big cotton balls. They don’t hurt and they have enough weight to them that you can actually throw them.

At first, she wasn’t really quite sure what to do with them. We were out in the living room and I was sitting on the floor with her. I grabbed one and threw it at her. She would go and get it and bring it back to me, and hand it to me to throw again. So I decided to toss one to Sam, who threw it at me. When I got hit, I overreacted and pretended to be thrown to the ground. At that point Ella picked them up and started to charge at me with them and knocking me over.

Eventually, we had our snowball fight. She mostly charged at me and pushed me down, but when she’d throw one and hit me, I’d be falling to the ground. We must have played for 90 minutes. It was constant chuckling from me and loud boisterous laughter from her! My God, her laugh!! What joy that brought to me! Sam even commented that it had been some time since she heard her laugh like that!

For 90 minutes, I was 5 years old. It was silly. I was fun. It is a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my days.

Dream That Made Me Think

I laid down to nap before work today and had some very vivid dreams. One of them has had me thinking since I woke up. It has got to mean something ….

Background

I guess to understand this dream, you need to know that every day I bring my bible to work. I try to get a few minutes with it each night. My lunch I tend to pack in plastic shopping bags, so I can just toss it in the fridge at work.

The Dream

I really don’t know where I am in the dream. It is almost like I am at a school or something. But then again, I have what I normally bring to work with me.

From what I remember I am climbing up these flights of stairs. I get to a floor, open the door and set my bags down for some reason. Then I hear a commotion in the stair well and people walking down the stairs. I am unsure why I follow them down.

At this point, I remember that I have set my stuff down on one of the higher floors. As I begin to climb the stairs, it becomes extremely hard to climb them. It physically hurts to try to climb each flight. I begin to feel like I am going to collapse because my knees hurt so bad. I start to think about what I left on the floor. I literally tell myself, “It’s just lunch. Just forget about it!”

I then remember that I left my bible in one of the bags. At that point I know that I have to go get it. I keep forcing myself up these stairs. I tell myself that it didn’t feel like this many flights the first time I walked up the stairs. Each step I take it seems harder and harder to walk up the stairs.

When I reach the floor, I walk through the door and my bags are gone. I begin to frantically look for them. I look for anybody who might be on the floor and can’t seem to find anyone. I finally see a light coming from a door and open it to find a woman I’ve never seen before. I explain that I left some bags on the floor just in front of the stairwell door.

She tells me that someone found them and brought them to her. I asked if she found my bible and she said she had. For some reason, even though it was my bible, there were all kinds of book marks and papers in it. I was just glad to have it back. She told me that it looked like “I read it a lot,” and I replied that I could still find more time to read it and study it.

At that point, I woke up.

What Does It Mean?

In the dream there was a huge sense of relief as I was handed the bible. So as I thought about it, I guess I am aware of an upward struggle. Does this represent something I am currently going through? Something I will go through? I don’t know. What hit me, though, is the that sense of relief when I was given the bible. Is this symbolic in some way? I don’t think God is talking to me in my dreams. He speaks to me through his Word. It is interesting to think that the sense of struggle and panic disappeared when I find the Bible.

I’ve never been one who puts a lot of faith into “dream interpretations” that you find on the internet, but did a search on “Dreams about stairs” just to see what they said. There are many sites, so I just looked at one. It said: “Dreams about climbing stairs are generally considered a good sign. This dream implies success and progress. It means you will successfully overcome all obstacles and get out troubles, if there are any. If you have difficulty climbing them, it means you are about to face situations that will drain your energy, but still you will be capable of conquering them.”

I’m not sure what to make of it all, but if there is difficulty ahead, I know that I’ll just trust that God will get me through it ….

Poetic Thoughts

I’m not a poet, but today my thoughts became poetic ….

What’s Important?

The anticipation started late in the fall,

I wrote out my list and wanted it all.

“Dear Mr. Santa here’s what you should bring,

Toys, electronics and money – Ka-ching!”

Santa holding a stocking filled with money

The same thing happened year after year,

I thought that’s what was meant by “holiday cheer.”

But as I have aged, I’ve learned that’s just not true.

It’s the memories made that are important to you.

It’s the look of amazement at new fallen snow,

And the smile of a child whose face is aglow.

It’s the laughter that’s shared as stories are told,

Yuletide accounts by the young and the old.

It’s the holiday songs being sung by a choir

Or the crackling sounds of wood on the fire.

It’s the hugs from your family that hold you so dear,

And remembering loved ones who are no longer here.

It’s the smell of baked cookies and fresh pumpkin pie,

It’s never about the things that you buy.

It’s the time spent together with ones that you love,

Praying and thanking the Lord up above.

It’s not about sweaters or books on a shelf,

Instead, this year, give the gift of yourself.

Be present. Be patient. Be loving and kind.

Help those in need, if you are so inclined.

Focus on family and focus on friends

Rethink what’s important as the year draws to an end.

Taking our minds off material things

We’ll all feel the joy that the holiday brings.

What the Dickens?

Last night I finished my yearly reading of A Christmas Carol. I have been reading it every year since junior high school. I blogged about that here:

A holiday tradition since 1982 …..

As many times as I have read it, I sometimes feel like I read things I don’t remember. A few years back I purchased The Annotated Christmas Carol. Throughout the story, there are notes off to the side regarding things that Dickens has written about. Some notes are as simple as a definition of an archaic word, while other notes are more in depth. Some notes are fascinating as they compare things in the story to other stories that Dickens wrote. I highly recommend it!

Now that I have read the book again, I will begin to watch some of the various movies. Before I do that, however, I listen to Patrick Stewart’s one man performance of the story. I originally bought the cassettes of this, but I was able to find it at Barnes and Nobel on CD a few years back so I can still listen to it on my drive to work.

My next book is one that I had in my library many years ago, but lost it in a move. It took me a bit to find again, and I am glad to have it again. It’s been on my shelf for a few months, and now that we’re in the Christmas season, I will read it again.

I think we can all agree that Jesus Christ was not actually born on December 25th. As a matter of fact, a study of the Bible actually proves that He wasn’t. (He was probably born around October.) This book was one I stumbled on many years ago and I am excited to reread it.

Christmas “To Do” List

One of the best interviews I ever did was with the singer Jewel. In 2008 she put out a country album (Perfectly Clear) and she stopped by the station to do some on air promotion.

I follow her Instagram page and she posted this “To Do” list, which I thought was perfect to share.

Good stuff, huh?

Speaking of Jewel and Christmas, I have always loved her Christmas album from 1999.

I look terrible in this photo, but it is the only one I have form the day she came to the studio.

Holiday Grief

The song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” but for some, it isn’t. Some are dealing with grief and the loss of a loved one and I tend to think that the holidays make that grief a bit more difficult than it already is.

I have written about death and grief before. In reflecting on events of the past few days and past few months, I was moved to revisit an old blog and write again on the subjects.

Back in August, a classmate passed away from Covid-19. This week, one of my dearest friend’s brother passed away. Both were under 55.

In a previous blog, I wrote: I understand that death is a part of life. I am reminded of a quote from my psychology class that said, “The hardest part of losing someone isn’t having to say goodbye, but rather learning to live without them – always having to fill the void, the emptiness that’s left inside your heart when they go.” This is so true. Leo Buscaglia said, “Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time.” Also true. Bruce Lee, who died at the young age of 32, said, “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

That blog was written after another friend of mine passed away unexpectedly at 47. I talk about how precious time is and how death and time often tie together. I mention in that blog that “life” also ties in with time and death. “Live every day as if it were your last. Someday, you’ll be right.” That quote was written on the band room announcement grease board some 33 years ago by our band director, Tom Shaner and it will always remain with me.

Every year, I would look forward to the Shaner’s Christmas card. They often would share photos and a yearly recap. Tom would always scribble a little note off to the side of the card to me and sign it “TRoy.” Tom passed away a couple days before Christmas last year. Today, the Shaner Christmas letter arrived, this time with a hand written note from his wife. She continues to grieve, as do the rest of his family.

At the end of her letter, she included a quote that I have never seen before, but found to be absolutely perfect. I wanted to share it here because I know many others who are grieving this holiday season. The quote reads: “When we lose someone we love, we must learn not to live without them, but to live with the love they left behind.” (Unknown)

That quote is SO VERY TRUE! It can apply to someone who you have lost recently or many years ago. It also ties in with the last quote I used in my previous blog about life, death, and time. The blog reads: The late author Terry Pratchett says this: “No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.”

Whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one or friend who has passed away recently, or a long time ago – every time you think of them there are ripples. Every story you tell, there are ripples. Every smile they bring to your face, there are ripples. They live on and their love lives on – and the ripples continue….

National Christmas Card Day

Did you know that there even was such a thing as National Christmas Card Day? I didn’t. It’s today – December 9th. Here is the scoop from the National Day Calendar website:

Each year around this time, friends and families begin mailing their holiday cards. Christmas Card Day on December 9th serves as a reminder to get your stamps, envelopes, and cards together so you can share your holiday cheer.

Sending a card during the holidays hasn’t always been a tradition. In Victorian England, sending Penny Post was inexpensive and frequent. It was also considered rude to ignore a written message. One particularly popular Victorian invented the holiday card out of necessity. Sir Henry Cole received frequent letters, and it left him little time for other responsibilities. In 1843, he asked his friend J.C. Horsley to illustrate a design he had in mind. Soon, Cole was off to the printer, and he mailed the first Christmas card in the Penny Post to friends, family, and many acquaintances.

Today, we mail a variety of cards at Christmastime. The tradition of Christmas cards continues in a broader sense. Social and electronic media keep us connected in this modern world more than ever before. However, the Christmas card continues to be a part of our annual tradition, even if it takes on a different style or pattern.

Photo cards – Many families take an annual holiday photo specifically for mailing to friends and family. These photos may be snapshots or professional photos. Most families save them from social media, so they remain a surprise when they arrive in the mail, too.
Christmas letter – These letters often highlight the events for each family member for the year. Not everyone has social media, so it’s a nice way to catch up with friends and family. The letters usually run a page in length, but some letter writers have a lot more to say.
Postcards – These simple cards generally send the same holiday message a regular Christmas card does, but without a fold or an envelope. With a photo on one side and a simple message on the other, they are quick and easy to send, too.
Business card – Christmas cards also come from businesses who want to remind us they still want our business. As a marketing tool, businesses know their best customers like to be remembered during the holidays, too.
New Year’s cards – The holidays do get busy, and some of us put off sending any holiday cards until New Year. They still want to keep in touch with family and friends, so they send their good wishes in the form of a Happy New Year card. So, don’t mark anyone off your Christmas card list until after the first of the year.

These holiday cards may be the only communication we receive all year long from a friend or family member. Even if we spent an abundance of time with them once, these once-a-year notes touch us with a bit of meaning this time of year. We take the time to connect once again and say, “We’re thinking of you.”

Do you still send/receive Christmas cards?

For me personally, I enjoy receiving Christmas cards. Our first one arrived this week from my friend, Jen. In the past, I used to send cards out every year. Sam and I sent some out a year or so ago, but haven’t done so since. We’re hoping to get a few out this year.

I love when the cards include photos, or the card itself is a photo. Whether the photo is a simple shot of a family, or pictures of the kids in Christmas jammies, or a collage of past events, it always makes me smile to see them.

I may be in the minority here, but I also love to read the “year in review” family letters. To me, I love how personal this is. Sometimes, the family letter is the only way you find out about something. What a wonderful way to get “caught up.”

Our world has kind of lost the importance of real connections. Rarely do we send birthday cards in the mail anymore. Rather, our wishes are limited to “Happy Birthday” via text message or social media. There is something very special about receiving a greeting in the mail. Whoever sent it took the time to pick a card, or write a letter, and chose to send it to YOU. Perhaps, the world would be a better place if we took more time to make someone smile with a card or letter.

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate National Christmas Card Day, buy a few stamps, pick the “right” card, jot a special message inside, and drop it in the mail.

Christmas “Cheese”

Over the weekend, Sam and I took Ella and AJ to get Christmas pictures done. We scheduled them a few weeks ago. We had a few different outfits that we wanted to get their pictures in, but we weren’t able to do more than one. We went back and forth as to whether or not we wanted to take them in their PJ’s or the dress outfits. We opted for the dress outfits and they came out great. So why only one outfit?

There was some sort of water main break at the mall and they closed the mall for a couple days. So they rescheduled people’s appointments for the weekend. In essence, they were double/triple booked. Our appointment was at 11:30am, which should have been the second appointment of the day. There were two families in there when we arrived for our appointment. The lady that was there was obviously already frazzled. She stated that her help had not arrived yet.

She had finished the first set of photos and the parents of the first child were in front of a computer clicking their favorites as she took the next family back. That second family had like 4 kids and they were doing family pictures as well as individual pictures. We were basically told that it would be a bit before we got called back and that we could walk the store, which we did.

It was not easy keeping Ella and AJ happy, though. We were close to lunch time and nap time, so the longer we waited, the more cranky they could become. It was closer to 12:45p by the time we got to go back. The entire time we waited, Sam and I were getting ticked. We thought for sure that because they were so overbooked, we’d be rushed in and rushed out. Thankfully that did not happen, and we got some really nice shots.

Kudos to my wife for this idea. You wouldn’t know that Ella would not really stand still for pictures. She was running all over the place. We love the one above because it looks like she is pointing at AJ.

The photographer asked her to give her brother a kiss, which she did. What makes me laugh is that he is still in the “return to Santa” box, which almost makes it like she is kissing him goodbye.

We got a couple of each of them alone, too, which came out nice.

Next up, pictures with Santa. Cabela’s has contact free photos and we’ve made our appointment. Hopefully, those will go well.

Christmas Memory – The High School Holiday Band Concert

If my memory serves me correct, our high school band played three concerts. The first was the Fall concert, usually in early November, which featured both Concert Band and Marching Band songs. The Spring Concert happened in mid-May, and usually featured some of the more “fun” songs. In between those, we had a holiday concert in December.

This concert featured both the Concert Band and the various choir groups. The band almost always opened the concert and would play every 5th or 6th song. I think the band may have played a total of 4 or 5 songs during the entire concert. My grandparents, who were at every band concert, disliked the Christmas concert. They didn’t like having to wait so long to hear the band play.

It wasn’t easy for us band kids to sit on the stage throughout the entire concert either. I want to say that the area of the stage that the band was on was darkened while the choirs sang. It didn’t stop some of the goofing off in the brass and percussion sections. I can recall the drummers dropping things more than one time while the choirs were singing. They would get the “evil eye” from our band director which basically said, “Cut it out!”

The concert always ended with Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. Our choir director would invite any alumni up to the stage to join in and sing. It was a perfect way to end the concert. The stage was already packed with the band and all the choir people, but we always made room for the various alumni singers.

The holiday concert my senior year was pretty special for me. I can’t recall if it was the entire trumpet section, but we all got to go up on the roof of the auditorium a half hour before the concert and play Christmas carols. They were arranged in 4 part harmony and it sounded so cool. I was lucky enough to direct the players. I can only imagine how cool it must have been for folks walking into the concert and hearing us from the roof.

As a kid, I stumbled on a Boston Pops Christmas album. It had many of the songs that would play over the PA system as you walked through K-Mart or Hudson’s during the holiday season. The first song on the album was an almost 9 minute medley of Christmas songs by Leroy Anderson called A Christmas Festival.

The song remains one of my favorites to this day. I used to grab a stick and crank this up in my headphones and “conduct” the orchestra in my room. For the holiday concert my senior year, we actually got to play it, which made it even cooler for me. I was so familiar with it already, but playing it was challenging. It was a tough piece. There were plenty of time signature changes and key changes, and some high notes. We also played the “band” version of it, which was a little different from the “orchestra” version. It was such a neat piece to play. One of the things I did after the concert was grab a copy of the conductor’s score so I could watch it as I listened to the record from home.

Give it a listen:

After we graduated, there were a few times that some of the alumni band got together to play Christmas carols in the lobby prior to the school’s holiday concert. I miss those days and miss playing my horn.