How was your Christmas and News Years?

I bet you have story after story racing through your mind right now!

Well let me tell you mine before you start into what you had going on. First, our heater broke down. I live in the deep south, and it doesn’t get as cold as some parts of the country. But we felt the c-c-c-c-cold! We actually had to NOT run it because, if we did, we would die. The gas company guy that came out, said, “You may not want to turn this on or you may wake up dead.” And since we didn’t want to be one of “those stories”, we decided to *rough it*.

That was before Christmas. 

On Christmas Day, our oven caught on fire. Apparently, the heating element inside the oven broke. And when that happens, that’s a bad thing. So we were freezing in the house, except for the fire we had going inside the oven! 

There were a couple of smaller things that happened I could tell you about, but those were the main things that we had to deal with. I literally started looking around for Chevy Chase to come out playing the part of Clark Grizwald in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

So why am I telling you this? To whine about our bad Christmas problems? To get you to laugh at our funniest Christmas ever? (maybe)  To try and get you to feel sorry for us?

Actually, it’s none of those reasons (and I’m not that kind of person). I’m actually telling you this to let you know I REALLY enjoyed this Christmas and New Year’s season a lot more than I have the other years. It has to do with my family. My boys are now old enough to appreciate what it means. They get so pumped about Santa and continually talk to me and their mom about it.

It’s about cuddling under the covers with my wife to keep each other warm at night. It’s bringing out that rotating heating fan so we’ll have a way to stay warm while the heater’s dysfunctional. All those are memories. They’re memories we won’t forget. They’re times we will look back on and smile.

You see, that time of year isn’t about the presents. It isn’t about the stuff. It isn’t even about the food. It’s about being loved and loving unconditional. And that’s the true reason for the season - unconditional love.

Blessings to you and your family this year.

Mark