the MAGIC of CHRISTMAS

By his own admission, Dustin is a bit of a Scrooge.  He's one of those people that likes putting the Christmas tree up on December 24th and taking it down by noon Christmas day.

And then there's the issue of the radio stations playing Christmas music right after Halloween.

And then there's the complaints about how Christmas has become too commercialized.

And then there's the hum bug about how Christmas shouldn't always be about getting presents.

Ok, so I'm exaggerating things a bit.  Big emphasis on the word "bit."

I, on the other hand, love Christmastime, but over the years have gotten used to his less than jolly attitude.

This year, however, things have been different.

One day, while driving around and listening to the radio, Dustin said, "You know, I'm not going to let the Christmas music on the radio bother me this year.  I think I'll view it as "holiday music." This way, I won't get annoyed when I hear it before Thanksgiving."

Another day, he said, "Even though Christmas isn't all about getting presents, gifts are apart of Christmas.  While they shouldn't overshadow celebrating and remembering the birth of Jesus Christ, it's not a bad thing to get excited about opening presents on Christmas morning."

The sudden shift in attitude has been great, and I was really surprised to hear him be more upbeat about and more welcoming to the holiday season.

Why the sudden change in attitude?  That's simple.  Our daughter.  Having our Belle has reminded him of the magic of Christmas.  We have plans to make cookies and deliver them to our friends.  We watch at least one Christmas-ish movie or cartoon a day, just the three of us. We're starting new traditions and thinking of new ones all the time.  It's been great.

And, I couldn't ask for a better way to end the year and bring in the new one.

Merry Christmas everyone!