Enjoying the Afterglow and Reminiscing

It's the day after Christmas and it's pretty quiet here at "Casa de Writemarsh". The kids wound themselves up yesterday, then wound down hard. They had a nice Christmas.

Most importantly, there was no angst on Christmas...no "we gotta go here, we gotta get there"...Just a relaxing day at home. In a word, "peaceful".

No matter what is going on in my life, I always love the Christmas season. I love what the season is really about, not the brash consumerism that the secular left has made it out to be. I don't shop like a maniac, I take my time, find the perfect gifts, and if not, I try not to sweat the small stuff.

I had a bachelor grand-uncle, Uncle Eddie, who made Christmas his day. When people ask if I believe in Santa Claus, I tell them, believe? I'm related to him.

That was Uncle Eddie. He never sweated the small stuff when it came to the holidays, but always spoiled us kids rotten-like we were his own kids. It wasn't Christmas without Uncle Eddie being there.

Uncle Ed stayed with our family every Christmas, for as long as I can remember. He got cancer and died in 1982, 2 weeks before Christmas. Not a year goes by that I don't think of him at Christmas-time. I even try to spoil my kids like he did for us.

It gives me a great feeling of joy to try to be even a little bit like Uncle Ed this time of the year. My kids would have loved him. I do get a bit sad when I reminisce, as my kids will never know him, but I try to put a little bit of him in every Christmas, and my kids have yet to be disappointed. I guess that's my way of honoring his memory and making sure my kids know what he was, if not who he was. He was "Santa Claus", to us.

Anyway, I hope your Christmas was as peaceful as mine.

G-d Bless You All!