Christmas Presents

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate - and best wishes to all.

Today is Christmas here and there's always something going on about the holiday.  We Christians must remember that the Number One Christmas Present was/is Jesus Himself .  I know it's cliche, but that is the origin of our celebration even though  it may have been changed over the years, morphing into a mix of the spiritual, the commercial, and the social.  We also remember presents presented to the Christ Child - gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh from the Three Wise Men. We also hear of  the fictional gift of The Little Drummer Boy; the spirit of that carol does ring true and continues to move and challenge us.  And I think one Christmas Present we can or should all agree on, regardless of any religious persuasion is PEACE.

A neat story happened during my quest for a Christmas present yesterday.  My cousin wanted a particular cd, and as I just found out, I was trying to hustle and find it before Christmas Day with a very limited amount of shopping time left.  I didn't find it at the drugstore I went to (they used to have cds, I thought), and was debating on going to the local really big retailer knowing it would be totally mobbed.  I only had half an hour to spare and decided to give it a try.  After negotiating the extra busy parking lot, I headed in and a gal told me that it was crazy but the lines were moving fairly well.  As I only wanted the cd, I headed straight to that department and began to search.  Couldn't find it.  I looked and looked, and finally decided to look on this last rack.  A young man was also searching there and - there was cousin's desired cd - there by his feet.  I said "Excuse me," and bent down to get the find.  I almost screamed - "Got it!"   He said - "Give me 5"  and I did! There was a checkout right there in the department so I went to get in line and I told another young man I found mycousin's gift.  He even let me in line next.  It's always nice to report on good young people and it's nice to have a cool experience at a time when the long lines and the stress of crowds can get to almost anyone.

Now there's still one Christmas present I wish for and that I try to visualize and help happen.  My cat, Spunky, has had a very rough time health wise recently.  He had two surgeries on his ears in the fall.   Right now I  have to hand feed him so I'm hoping he'll get healthier and stronger - and back to gobbling down his food as he always did.  He's his mommy's sweetie since he's such a good cat and faithful companion. So here's hoping for better health for my baby for a long time to come.