time for joy.

I like Christmas.

To me, Christmas should be celebrated close to family and friends and far away from everyone else. I do not like people, and the farther away from the majority of them that I am, the better.

Christmas needs to include food and drink. Lots of good food and drink. I'm not talking about a keg party or body shots, but some nog and spiced rum over ice cubes; popping a bottle of cab; or a couple-three fingers of good Scotch, all being enjoyed by the fireplace. In my family, we've bypassed the traditional meal of ham with the usual accompaniments. We cook the good stuff. This year it's ribeye and king crab legs. We don't have time to fuck around.

Jesus, God, and the whole "reason for the season" is not crammed down anyone's throat, yet we all still feel the closeness and warmth surrounding it. I personally don't need church to feel spiritually connected to the holiday. It's basically for the same reasons that I don't need church every Sunday to reinforce by faith and beliefs. I can do without the stories. To me, it cuts into my time with the people that I love, doing the things that we love to, thus creating warmth, spirituality, appreciation, and togetherness.

I just looked out my back window and saw two flocks of geese flying in perfect "v" formations over my backyard. Their shadows cast on the untouched snow in the park behind my house. To me, that is feeling closer to God than listening to someone I don't know tell me stories that they've read about. To each their own, though.

Have a good December 25th, kids.



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