You just put gingerbread cookies in the oven... one hand is on the phone with Kohl's customer service letting you know you left your credit card behind while buying something for your sister that you ended up replacing with something better and returning anyway... the other hand is finding a family picture for those cards that you've got to get out-but why is no one looking in the same direction in any picture? Your left foot is trying to keep the tottering toddler from climbing the Christmas tree---again, and your right foot is, well, holding you up...barely. And then you realize...when was the last time I thought about WHY I am doing this?
It's a great reason why we do it all, but sometimes we get so caught up in the everything-else of Christmas, we start to forget the important parts.
by David Shannon
The story of Mr. Merriweather, a man who usually celebrated Christmas with a wreath and some simple decorations on the tree. One year, to his family's delight, he decided to really go out and add a small string of lights around the window. When teased about the lights by his neighbor, Mr. Merriweather decides to make a few improvements...but then he doesn't stop. He eventually creates what can only be described as a Christmas Extravaganza. People flock to his home to see the lights, traffic backs up around his neighborhood, brown outs blanket every other house, and Mr. Merriweather doesn't realize everything else that he is missing while he's caught up in making the display bigger and better. Unfortunately, his neighbors finally get fed up and instead of talking it over with Mr. Merriweather, take matters into their own hands, which they eventually regret.
I like that Mr. Merriweather's intentions are not to outdo the neighbors, but just to make a grand display to celebrate Christmas. Sound familiar? Reign in excesses, and you'll be amazed how much more you can enjoy the holiday season.
Want to read the story of a real-life Christmas Extravaganza from the house photo above? Go here to read it on the Boston Globe. Seriously, the book sounds like it was written straight from the article.
house image via ecomorons.org
book image via overstock.com
No comments:
Post a Comment