Have you ever seen a drumline perform? Or a pipe-and-drum corps? Or a marching band? Mick Fleetwood or Neal Peart, maybe (am I dating myself with those names)? It can be deafening, even without amps or microphones. The potential noise production of three toddlers, with or without pots to bang on, is roughly equivalent to […]
It’s normal to want people’s attention. During the holidays, when pretty much everybody’s attention is focused on something other than us–cooking, the beautiful lights, the kids opening their presents, family we don’t get to see very often, or a hundred other things–it’s entirely understandable. But it’s not always healthy, for us or the people we […]
I’ve never understood this line of the song. Why would lords leap? It occurs to me, though, that it might be pretty boring to be a lord. Your whole existence is based on who you are, or more importantly, who you parents are. People expect nothing of you except that you’ll act the way they […]
Some folks don’t seem to be able to rest. They putter around the house, or the yard, fixing this, straightening that, tidying the other thing. They always have a project, always something that needs doing. They, like the rest of us, never seem to get it all done–but they never stop moving. It’s exhausting just […]
There’s a lot of work to do this time of year. Hanging lights, putting up the tree, buying presents, wrapping presents, cleaning house, cooking. And cooking. And cooking. That’s if we’re hosting a holiday gathering. If not, we’re probably traveling to one. Which means packing everything into the car and going, across town or across […]
Every family has its holiday traditions. Whether it’s as simple as everybody gathering at Grandma’s for Christmas dinner, or going out on a certain date to pick a tree, or putting up the ornaments just so, or as elaborate as snow football followed by hot chocolate followed by It’s a Wonderful Life followed by dinner […]
I’ve often had a hard time buying gifts for the holidays. It’s never a problem when the time comes to give; the highlight of my season is usually watching people’s reactions to what I’ve chosen for them, or more often what my wife has chosen. In that moment, if the recipient loves the gift, it’s […]
Be honest, now–did you sing it in your head as you read it? I did as I wrote it. A couple of years ago, my wife and son passed a Salvation Army Santa on their way out of a store. It was before Thanksgiving, so when my son asked if he could make a donation, […]
When I was a kid, one of our traditions was to go over to the neighbor’s house on Christmas Eve. They always had a real tree, and the only ornaments on it were candles. Real candles. It seemed like hundreds of them to me, but it was probably more like thirty or forty. They would […]
This can be a magical time of year for kids. And an exhausting time for their parents. If your kids are young enough they still believe in Santa Claus, you may spend your holidays maintaining the illusion: hiding presents, baking cookies to leave for him (and maybe a carrot or some celery for Rudolph), decorating […]