Christmas Eve

Everyone finds Christmas Eve exciting when they are a kid. The tree is decorated, the stockings are up waiting to be filled, and Santa is on his way. There is so much anticipation and suspense...it's hard to fall asleep and you're awake hours earlier than usual.

My parents admonished us not to wake them before a certain time (like 7:00 or 8:00), but we were allowed to get up and take our stockings back to bed. I would peel and eat my Japanese orange and start on the gold foil-covered chocolate coins (that were more wax than chocolate). Those were the standard stocking stuffers and all that could be fit inside.

I didn't know what a wretchedly small stocking I had until I was 31 and spending my first Christmas together with my future husband and his two kids. Their stockings were huge by comparison, although most people would probably consider them just a normal size.

John had an extra stocking amid his Christmas paraphenalia, a big red one...and he insisted I start using this stocking. Year after year he stuffed that stocking for me like he was trying to make up for the first 30 Christmases I'd had with my puny facsimile of a stocking. I got spoiled (but not ruined!).

But, over the past 20 years together, we've gradually left the Christmas stocking tradition aside and concentrated more on other aspects of the season.

We feel we have Christmas all year round in that we enjoy our lives, our friends and family, and our health and happiness, every single day. We don't put things off until a particular date or time of year; every day is a cause for joy and celebration.

In essence, we strive to create the feeling of Christmas Eve frequently in our lives, without all the stocking stuff. So, that makes today, December 24th, just another wonderful day in our life together, for which we are grateful.

Merry Christmas.

Todo bien. (It's all good.)