Christmas Time Is Here

Merry Christmas.

It’s Christmas morning here in Indiana. I’m sure it’s Christmas wherever you’re reading this as well(unless you’re in Australia…or in the biodome on Tralfamadore.) It’s another great morning with the family. My wife and I have been celebrating Christmas together since December of 1991. If you do the math, that’s….a hell of a lot of years. Some Christmases have been better than others, but the main thing is that we’ve gone through them together. The last five years have been the best so far, and I can only hope they continue on that path. I may not be religious, but I can appreciate the sentiment of the day which is love each other, appreciate each other, and never take for granted that face sitting across from you. You never know when it may be gone for good.

Carpe diem, and all that important crap.

I’m thankful the wife decided to read a budgeting book back in 2012. It put us on the right track with money and saving and got us out of debt in little over a year. No longer are we freaking out in November and December about how we’re going to pay for those Lego sets and books and such. Cash is waiting for the holiday squeeze inside an envelope when it comes time for Christmas shopping. No maxed out credit cards, no hollowed gut aches or premature graying hair. It’s a damn good feeling.

I did, however, venture out to a certain well-known retail store yesterday morning for a last minute gift idea I thought the kids would appreciate. Just Dance 2016 for the Wii and Season 13 of The Simpsons. I used to buy a season of The Simpsons for the kids every year at Christmas. I guess it was a tradition. The last few years I’ve stopped buying them. Maybe because the seasons weren’t as good, and maybe because they were filling the gift ideas up with newer, more expensive things. But this year I thought it would be a cool throwback to those Christmas mornings when Bart, Lisa, Homer, Marge, and the Flanders’ were waiting under the tree. So I threw my coat on and my beanie and headed out to that store that will remain nameless and see what I could find. Oh man, what a soul-crushing experience that was.

Of course, I knew going in that it wasn’t going to be easy, but I figured I knew exactly what I wanted to get so it shouldn’t be a big deal. The looks of absolute despair on the hollowed out faces of parents doing their Christmas shopping the day before Christmas was unbearable. Procrastinators abound, these folks were scouring the $5 DVD bins and clearance aisles like desperate refugees searching for bread after the great galactic wars of 2057. It was a horrendous sight, and I was a part of it. I had the sinking feeling that they may not have any Simpsons box sets as I searched the DVD aisles, and that feeling became a reality when no yellow-faced cartoon families were found anywhere. It had been like 5 years since I bought a box set in the store, so I guess they stopped carrying them. Then, there were no Just Dance 2016s for the Wii, either. Just the WiiU. I guess the Wii is an antiquated machine nowadays. Who knew? I didn’t leave empty handed. I did buy the wife a 6pk of that alcoholic Root Beer she likes.

Cheers!

One last thing, my son and I went on Wednesday and saw Star Wars : The Force Awakens. It was everything I’d hoped it would be, and more. What those prequels lacked in(heart and humor) was back in episode seven. Abrams has given me back that magic I found in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Don’t worry, no spoilers here. And not even a review. All I will say is that if you ever loved Star Wars as a kid, if you ever owned more than 20 action figures or Kenner-made Star Wars toys, or ever argued furiously with someone about how Star Trek isn’t better than Star Wars(another post in itself), then you must drop what you’re doing and head to the cinema and be transported to a galaxy far, far away….your childhood. Enjoy, and may the force be with you.

Merry Christmas everyone.