When I was a boy, Christmas came at the speed of a snail one torturous day after another. Each day seemed to be longer than the next. I compared my Christmas list with my classmates and we all knew that our most desired wish would be under the tree Christmas morning. Those playground and lunchtime conversations helped pass the time but made the waiting even more acute. As the month of December dragged by, I created a coping mechanism — my own countdown.
It usually started the day after Thanksgiving, long before the term “Black Friday.” In November it required math. “Three more days in November, plus, all those days in December?” The countdown really got serious on December 1, then it. We had the right month on the calendar and Christmas was in sight. “That’s 24 days until Christmas, 23 days until Christmas Eve and 20 days until we get out of school!” With laborious monotony, the calendar slugged forward and each day seemed to take a week.
Now, in 2021, childhood for me is a very distant, though vivid, memory. To recapture my youth I tried to work through the calendar again this year. Perhaps you did too, and your countdown sounded a little like this:
“Today is the 13th — no, wait, the 14th, right? That’s 11 more days until Christmas… ARRRGGHHH…I forgot to get a gift and to buy the thing at the store I was supposed to get … OK, that means its 10 days until Christmas Eve … where are we going for Christmas Eve? What are we bringing? Do we have everything? Has everyone even agreed on what time?”
“(Sigh) … so it’s 9 days until I take a little time off … oh my gosh, his report wasn’t filed. That email still needs sent. Will I even have time to take time off?”
“It’s only seven days until the office Christmas party? I need a gift! I need an ugly sweater! I need to make something to bring! …”
When we were kids, our only responsibility was to know our part for the school or church Christmas program. Now that we’re adults the expectations can be so much more that the holidays can be very difficult.
Here are my Christmas wishes for you this year: all the room lights off one evening, stand quietly in front of the Christmas tree and just take in the beauty of a special ornament. It could be from a trip you took, or from a special person in your life.
I wish you could watch an old time Christmas show with a three-year-old and experience the magic you thought was long gone. They provide just that special appreciation we wish we could have. You have not watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer until you’ve been with a three-year-old watching it for the first time.
I wish you could stand outside one night and hear the voices of a distant choir singing a Christmas Carol of Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all.
I wish you could taste a warm, fresh-from-the oven Christmas cookie and let it take you back to when the simple things were all that mattered. Grandma knew how to bake them and Grandpa knew how to grab one for you both when she wasn’t looking. (Then again, I did notice Grandma with a slight smile.)
I wish you could share a hot chocolate and an hour’s talk with a loved one about a Christmas long ago that brought joy to your family and friends. Safely treasured memories are the fiber of our own Christmas traditions. May we all be storytellers at heart?
Christmas is about the simple things. You’ll notice my wishes didn’t involve a single present or a shopping trip. They are about what’s deep inside you. I’m reminded of simple shepherds who huddled in quiet fields, gazing into a glow of Angels brilliantly proclaiming a timeless story. My most sincere wish for us all is that wonder of peace, love and joy.
Dirk Webb is the President/CEO of the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.
