Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Today is Christmas Day. Some thoughts.

By most arbitrary calendars, today is Christmas Day. Many folks celebrate this as the day that a boy was born to a carpenter and his young wife in a stable in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago. Many folks celebrate this as a day to exchange gifts.

Different cultures have different traditions around this day such as putting a “tree” of one sort or another in a room and putting decorations on it. I loved the silver aluminum tree of the 1960s. If you had it right, you also had a lamp with a wheel of colors turning so that the silver tree would turn colors.

It seems that in the last 20 years, people do a White Elephant gift exchange exercise. It is some type of game or conversation starter or something. I guess I understand the point of all that, but it is not my favorite past time.

What I like about this day and this week is that I sit and talk with people that I otherwise wouldn’t see. I like to “catch up” with their lives and know what they are doing.

I have what I consider to be two “sets” of grandchildren. One set comprises two teenagers while the other set comprises twin toddlers. That is quite a spread in experience. I enjoy either, or, and, and both experiences. I wish I could have the toddlers sit in my lap while I talk Calculus with the teenagers. Alas, that won’t happen this day.

I am of the age where I have seen more Christmas Days in my past than I will see in my future. That is a great influence on my thoughts about this day.

I enjoy good health this Christmas Day as does my wife as we have our 42nd Christmas Day together. Our children and grandchildren also enjoy good health this day. Those statements summarize the best earthly gifts I have. I will take them, happily.