Merry Hanukkah and Happy Christmas

Here it is again. The holidays are here. It seems we all celebrate this time for different reasons. When I was young it was all about Christmas break but presents were a close second. It was an exciting time of year and it was time that seemly stood still. In Michigan the snow always fell, and my Dad always had the fireplace going. The nights were cold.... although it's always cold in my parents house but for the sake of sentimentality I'll pretend that cold nights were unique to holiday time. Anyway, there was always a nice secure and cozy feeling in the house. At the time I was too young to realize it, but I had a lot to be thankful for. I mean I had a Nintendo Entertainment System, Radio Controlled Cars, a Tony Hawk skateboard, every He-man action figure you could imagine and too many computers to count. Yep, I was spoiled, and I'm damn proud of that.

I'm no longer a kid but I have a Sony Playstation and a few other toys but the rest of the fun stuff has been replaced by a job, a wife, some crazy cats, and a whole lot of bills. All of which are fun at times, especially my wife ;) but things are different. Time is different. Life moves so much faster. Without school there are no real time markers. No month long breaks. It's hard to break the daily routine and relive that magical feeling from childhood. It's hard to get excited because this time of year comes fast and it goes even faster. This year I wanna slow down time. Tonight I lit my Menorah and I even said a prayer. Tomorrow, I'm getting a Christmas tree and watching Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I wish there was snow on the ground, I might even go sledding on Sunday. When I get home for the holidays this year I wanna relive that frozen time with my family. I want to eat Chinese food on an endless Christmas day. This year I want to start being a kid again.