The holidays

First, let me clarify that the holidays I'm referring too are Thanksgiving and Christmas. I like Thanksgiving because I get to be with people I like and maybe some family members too. This past summer I planted pumpkins at the church so I didn't have to mow yet still not have the property overgrown with weeds. I sold many of the pumpkins and gave the money to the church to make improvements. What pumpkins weren't saleable or didn't sale I carved out and froze the pumpkin so now I'm baking pumpkin pies for all the church members.

I plan on planting a largger pumpkin patch next year.

The older I get the less meaning the traditional way of celebrating Christmas means to me. I no longer see my kid and rarely hear from him and the same for my wifes children. They all have busy lives and live so far away. Honestly, my church family means more to me than my relatives do because I know they care about me.

Instead of buying stuff to put under a tree my wife and I usually make a large purchase and consider it our Christmas gift to each other. One year we bourgt a new TV, last year we purchased new computers, a desktop for me and a laptop for her and this year we purchased a love seat with twin lounger/rocking chairs. Most of the items we purchased in September or October.

I find the most meaningful things about the holidays is the people we want in our lives. Not the food or the gifts but the people. Christmas, especially, is about people and Christ. I know he wasn't born on December 25th and I also know that that date was picked by the Catolic church as a way of getting people to give to the church rather than to pagan rituals. Still, we don't know exactly when the birthday of Christ was so December 25 is as good as any other day.

What is important is that we celebrate his birth. The gifts and the food and the parties are fun but the best gift we can give is our hearts to Christ. If we give him that he will give to us eternal life. And that, my friends, is what the holidays are about.