"One month" -- say the phrase. Does it sound like a long time?

I've been back to work for more than two weeks, and I don't think I've even blogged about Christmas and New Year's.

Christmas⁽¹⁾ really is the most wonderful time of year. For me, at least. Really wonderful things can happen at other times; that's for sure. Last year's spring break trip to Disney World was as wonderful as Christmas, but it's an isolated incident, and it doesn't happen every year.

But at Christmas, I get to experience the anticipation of the events which will happen, and then I get to experience them, and finally I get to remember them. Buying gifts is great -- I get to think about the people I love and how I can brighten their day with something they want. Taking a break from work is great -- the stress can melt away for a couple weeks. Spending time with my family is great; listening to, and singing, Christmas songs is great; sleeping late is great; hosting friends is great; playing games and watching movies and eating scrumptious goodies and being surrounded by holiday decorations -- all great. And yes, celebrating the birth of the Savior. The Reason for the Season.

It's hard to believe that it's only been a month since vacation started. In many ways, Christmas vacation seems like it's not part of Real Time. I get so disconnected from the daily grind that I forget what day of the week it is, and I don't stress about deadlines, budgets and all the other things that occur in Real Time. But once vacation ends, and I go back to Real Time, vacation is unreachable. It's Past, but not Real Time Past. In the Real Time Past, things happened that I have to remember: What was that deadline? What was that budget? In the Christmas Vacation Past the things that happened are things I want to remember.

I don't know -- somehow, Christmas deserves a better entry than this. But I am not going to just throw this away, simply because it's not yet good enough. I stop myself from expressing my thoughts too often using that excuse.

There are plenty of wonderful things to which I can look forward this year. I am not morose and sad that Christmas is over. It was wonderful. I look back on it fondly. And I look forward to the next one, as well.
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⁽¹⁾Despite my pastor's yearly attempts to convince me otherwise, "Christmas" means "the period of time leading up to December 25th, and following, when we anticipate and experience the celebration of Christ's birth." This certainly includes the holy day, but it also includes the many blessings which are a part of the season.