Christmas should be a lot of things. But to me, above all else, it should be fun. Mischievous. Whimsical. It should be a time where we can laugh at the absurdity of chaos in our lives and welcome the time with friends and family who always take the time to get together over the holiday season. We look around at the beauty of the lights on our neighbors houses. We listen to our favorite Christmas songs. We hope for snow. We watch all of the classic Christmas movies over and over. We watch The Polar Express the day before the day before Christmas Ever. We watch The Muppet Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve. We open boxes of old Christmas ornaments that our kids made and remember the memories. We wear more red than we ever thought we could. Suddenly we like hot chocolate. We bring out the old recipes of our grandparents or parents and cook comfort food, relishing in the ‘remember when’s’. We look for new traditions, to adjust to the ever changing way we live and where life takes us. We smile more. We cry more. And despite the craziness of the season, I hope I never forget to have fun. To enjoy my naughty dog as he knocks over the Christmas tree, again. To laugh at my puppy when he chews up an ornament and looks at me like “what??”. To be melancholy about when my cats where much younger, how they would keep us laughing all Christmas season with their antics with the Christmas tree and how they would hide in it and completely destroy all of our ornaments. These things are fun. And fun is good.
Take time to be whimsical this Christmas. Don’t take things too seriously. Let things go. And laugh at the artist who sent me the image of the reindeer getting their nails painted. It’s fun. And fun is good.
With love from Grand Haven,
Julie