It's Almost That Time Again

Now that we're almost half-way through December, Christmas is right around the corner. It's funny... Christmas is my favorite holiday, but this year I couldn't help but want it not to come. It's been one of those years where nothing seems to go as planned and you just can't wait for it to get over.

I still have well over half of my shopping to do, and that's something that I'm just not looking forward to one bit. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving we put our tree and decorations up, and after a week and change the house still doesn't feel like it usually does around the holidays. We, like every family, have our "Grinch", but usually that doesn't stop anyone from having fun and enjoying themselves. This year, however, even the most festive of people just can't get in to that holiday spirit.

All we can hope for is that something great will happen and that our luck will turn around and that next year will bring nothing but the best of everything. High hopes are what I've found can get a person through the toughest of times. All I know that I'm looking forward to next year is my baby brother getting here! February 12 is the day that my dad, Audra (my step-mom), and I are all waiting for!

Thank you!

As we (rapidly) approach Christmas and the New Year, I tend to find my thoughts, especially when I’m reading the New York Times, to the soldiers fighting for our freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. These men and women volunteered for what could be the fight of their life. Selfishly putting aside their family and their lives back home, these brave warriors have gone in to the unknown to face the unknown. I can’t even imagine walking down the streets of Kabul or Baghdad on patrol and having to be on constant alert even if you’re surrounded by children the same age as your own. We live in a time where we are suspicious of everyone we come across, especially if they look different than we do; we shouldn’t be living in that world.

 

Since 9/11, America and the rest of the countries around the world are on constant alert. Terrorists have basically found a way to control the world and that is completely uncalled for. I’ll be one of the first to sound off and say that I vehemently oppose the war in Iraq, but at the same time I’m glad that Saddam isn’t in power any more. With Barack Obama having been elected as the next President of the United States and having so many countries support him as America’s newest leader, it gives me great hope. I think that we will be able to get a great deal of good things accomplished that were either put on the back burner with Bush II or that were never allowed to even be considered by the current administration.

 

Supporting the troops that are fighting for freedom against terrorism is one of the greatest things that anyone can do. These brave men and women deserve our respect and support and should never have to ask for it. With the level of troops spread thin enough already, I think it’s time that this country rethink the battles it gets itself involved in. I hope that the agreement between the Iraqi government and ours keeps true and we’ll see a troop reduction in Iraq soon. Hopefully when that happens, the military will start rotating troops out of Iraq in to Afghanistan where our focus should have been this entire time. Osama bin Laden was the one that attacked us on our own soil, not Saddam. It’s entirely possible that because of the war in Iraq, bin Laden was able to cross the mountains in to Pakistan and could now be hiding out there. Why our attention was diverted somewhere else in the first place still blows my mind. Shouldn’t we have “kept our eye on the ball” instead of getting distracted? We, as a country need to figure out a way to regain our status as a country with a revered military. Under President Clinton we went eight years without being involved in a war and now we find ourselves involved in two, one of which (like I said before) we shouldn’t have been involved in in the first place.

 

As many people struggle to find a way to give back this holiday season, I think that supporting our troops tends to get overlooked. Supporting our troops can be as simple as thanking a soldier for what they do, sending care packages or sending letters to the troops fighting overseas. Let us not forget, however, about the rest of the troops that we have stationed around the globe who are keeping the peace that we have already restored.

 

I hope you will join me in taking a stand and supporting the troops this holiday season. Thank you to all the men and women in and out of uniform for all that you have done; we truly appreciate it!!!

Is It Really That Time Again?

Well ladies and gentleman... the holidays are right around the corner. Halloween, the start of the holiday season is almost here! This means that as soon as the ghoulish decorations come down, it's time to put up the Christmas decorations in the store. Granted, we still have Thanksgiving to get through, but when it comes to the stores there really isn't much that they put out.

In these tough times it's not that hard to find people (more than usual) who don't want to talk about Christmas simply because they aren't going to have the "normal" gift giving money. I honestly have been thinking about bringing up the idea of just either postponing or canceling the holiday for the older people in the family. I say just the older people because no kid should have to go without a Christmas when they're growing up. Christmas is, along with many people, my favorite holiday but it's not because of the presents. Let's face it, the gifts are always nice but that's not what the holidays are about. Many people forget that Christmas isn't about who can buy the biggest gift but about spending time with your family and being thankful for what you have.

Each and every year the holidays sneak up on people; while the days go by so slow, the weeks just fly by! We're half-way through October already!!! Fairly soon here in the Metro area we'll have one radio station playing Christmas music 24/7 until December 26th. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas music but that's just a little extreme. I'm sure, however, that I'll find myself going back and forth between 104.5 (Christmas over-kill station) and others that I normally listen to... this way I'll be able to get a little more variety.

I know that some people, for whatever reason don't like the holidays and that's cool with me; to each his own, but please don't try and impose that on others. There may have been something that happened in your past to make you not like this time of the year or you may just simply not like what the holidays have become, but there are some people, children included who live for Thanksgiving and Christmas for one reason or another.

I have been lucky enough to have been brought up in a family where I was taught what the real meaning behind the holidays is. My family is in no way "comfortable" when it comes to money so we've learned to live with what we have and that we can count on one another for just about anything. This was reinforced each and every year when I was growing up at Thanksgiving. Granted, we were all looking forward to Grandma's Thanksgiving dinner and Grandpa's homemade sides and desserts but we were, at the same time glad to be together if only for a couple of hours. This really is the time of the year to come together; set aside your differences with others if at all possible.

With all of that being said, let me be the first to wish all of you Happy Holidays!