Holiday time again - I can tell by my TV not the weather.

I love this time of year. I think people that say "I hate Christmas" are lying (hey its my blog, I can say what I want). I love it. I love the commercialism I love the constant TV ads I love the greedy kids I love it all. I love the Christmas music on the triple 9 before Thanksgiving. I think its all awesome. I love it because it reminds me of where I live, what we (claim to) stand for in this country and what is still (?) possible for each of us. You see each of these ads, each of these "things" that ruin Christmas for some is making it great for others. It seems to me that folks are driven by jealousy more then anything. If you had invented some product like the charge pad you'd be like "show it more" on TV! But you didn't so you can whine that it's on too much already.

A Little History.

I didn't always think this way... In fact I hated Christmas as a kid or at least the season until December 10th each year. Really. See my birthday is December 9th. So I wouldn't let me mom put up the tree until after my birthday. She probably hated it because it was a change from what she was used to. But still to this day she doesn't do it until then. I would whine about Christmas music, I'd whine about Christmas commercials etc. Everything bah humbug! But then I made a mistake. As a kid when we got ready to leave to Oregon to be with family (knowing we'd have to pack all the presents in the car) Mom already had the presents wrapped and under the tree before we left. One night before we left I found I was home alone. So I carefully unwrapped all of my presents and saw them then re-wrapped them. It totally ruined my Christmas experience. See I thought it would be cool to see everything or short cut the experience overall. But it didn't. It made me see that part of the fun of the Christmas season in America is the season it's self.

Arizona

People say, "it's hard to get excited about Christmas in Arizona" My folks used to say that when they lived here. I understand. They grew up where it was snowing and freezing this time of year. However I've had more Christmas' here than anywhere so I like the AZ experience. While our weather may be 80 degrees on Christmas (I have swam before on Christmas day) but it still feels like Christmas to me.

Original Premise

See when you hear Christmas music on the radio in November be thankful. A lot of songs are about your Savior and about giving to others. Be happy that there is at least some people that believe those are good things. When you see the same Christmas commercial on TV for the 50th time, be happy that you live in a country where free enterprise still (in some form) exists. When you have your kids beg you for some stupid thing that you can't understand why anyone would ever want it, just smile and be happy that your kid wants (not needs) for most things. When you hear about bad traffic, long lines and annoying people at stores, just smile and think about how it could be when a piece of hard candy was all there was for Christmas...

Conclusion

I love this season. I'm listing to KEZ all the time. I love that they play the stupidest songs (who really wants a hippo for Christmas...). I think that people are happier and more gracious this time of year. I think I am a nicer fellow to be around too. It is funny how situations or environment or others help push us along to be better. Now good luck. We are all going to be frustrated or disappointed or rude or angry or something negative this season. It'll happen. Just remember Thanksgiving is before Christmas so we can be thankful throughout the holiday season.