Decembrance…

It’s Decemeber! To me, December feels like the official start of the holiday season. I grew up celebrating Christmas. I still celebrate Christmas. It’s my December holiday of choice. No apologies.

[As a prelude to an upcoming blog, I have a strong want for more consciousness around December holidays other than Christmas. It's a diverse world out there. Some people don't celebrate Christmas. It's important to know this.]

In my singledom, I haven’t always put up a tree. I will be erecting the Silver Bullet Christmas Tree in 6 Gary Lane sometime soon, maybe this weekend. Anyone want to join me? I even have a fireplace this year. SWEET!

Before you start capping on my tree (which I fully expect), please know this was my family Christmas tree for most of my growing up years. My brother eventually pushed for a real tree and the Silver Bullet was retired. I love it and am grateful to have it in NH. It will go with me to OR.

My parents did Christmas well. I always enjoyed it and have very fond memories. We celebrated on Christmas Eve. My brother, sister and I would be having fun with family and friends while my father slipped away.

Unbeknownst to us, Dad would grab all of our presents out of the basement or garage and haul them up to our front door. I’m sure there was great coordination with Mom to have us in another area of the house.

Once the job was complete, Dad would knock loudly on the front door, ring some sleigh bells and give us a huge, “Ho Ho Ho!” We would come running to the door and all of our presents would be there. Dad would run around the back of the house and practically be answering the door with us. We were none the wiser. It was awesome!

We opened all of our presents that night and loved every minute of it. I can’t remember exactly how my parents explained away the Santa and the fireplace thing. It had something to do with the fireplace being inoperable. Once the Santa myth was debunked, my brother pushed to use the fireplace as an actual fireplace. We did. It worked.

MAJOR TANGENT: Talking about the fireplace myth reminds me of two other significant myths perpetrated by the parental units One was around the shower not working. I took baths growing up. I’ve never taken one since I left the house. I was developmentally challenged when it came to showering in high school. Oh, the scars. Just kidding, Mom.

The other myth is that I’m allergic to milk and chocolate. I had bronchial asthma as a kid. I had some wicked bad attacks as a wee lad. My doctor and mother conspired to keep me off these foods, because they could serve as triggers to mucus build up, blah, blah, blah. Anywho, I’m not allergic and I’m not a big chocolate fan. I think it all worked out pretty well in the end. Oh yeah, I didn’t die, either. Thanks, Mom!

BACK TO DECEMBER: Another great thing about December - it’s my birthday month! (…EvilKate’s, too, but this is about me, people.) My birthday is December 18th. Yes, it’s one week before Christmas…every year. When it rains presents, it pours. As an adult, Mom tried to celebrate my birthday in June one year to shift things up. It was a great effort, but it just didn’t feel right.

Finally, December 13th is the one year anniversary of Objective Perspective. You’ll be hearing more about this soon, but I’m glad to be out here sharing myself with you, my loved ones and friends.

Cheers to a great December!!

Much love,
Gregory