Last year we did have a white Christmas. It snowed for several days before Christmas and it snowed on Christmas Day, too. Not this year! The temperatures have not been below 35 degrees this winter.
We started the day out slow and easy, then we had to go to my mom’s house for dinner. She is a great cook and takes this Christmas dinner thing very seriously. So we all have to get dressed up nice, can’t be late, and have to make an extra effort to not get into an argument with anyone in the family so we don’t upset my mom and ruin her Christmas.
I like to grill because I think the food tastes better. And I like being outdoors. Except this whole week it’s close to 100 degrees – even more if you take into consideration the heat index or “feels like” temperature of 125.
When its this hot, the oven heats up the kitchen so much that the whole first floor goes up at least 5 degrees. At least if I’m grilling that keeps the heat outside. Now if I could just show my woman how to make a batch of brownies on the grill.
My favorite part of the newspaper has always been the comics. If I had to pick just one section of the newspaper to read, I would pick the comics without a moment’s hesitation.
It used to be a traditional Sunday morning when I was growing up that my father would get the Sunday newspaper from the end of the driveway and bring it in the house. Then he would give out different sections of the newspaper for everyone to read while my mother cooked breakfast for the family. He always chose the sports section for himself, my older brother always wanted the front page, and I always got the comics. He saved the style section for my mother.
Even today, when I get the Sunday newspaper from the end of my own driveway now, I pull out the comics first and read them. They sometimes talk about newspapers dying and not being needed any more. But if that happened I would surely miss my comics. I know that you can read some of them online, but that is not the same as having the newsprint with colored ink in your own two hands. I hope that day never comes.
Everything I am and everything I do – I owe to my Mother. I am the luckiest guy in the world to have her. Lots of other kids wanted her to be their mom when I was growing up. I think everyone knew how special she was – the best!
This is for my friends who celebrate Christmas. Although I am not a very religious person, I do celebrate Christmas, mostly for the spirit for which it is intended. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.
