That's What I Mean...

I love to read. I read almost everything but historical fiction. I don't love biographies, but I like a couple of them. I just picked up Barbara Eden's yesterday from the library. They were holding books for me, which is not a big surprise. I also have Patrick Swayze's and Lisa Niemi's. I've started that one, but it needs to pick up soon. I get reading inspiration from lots of places. Friend's posts on Facebook, the library "knowledge portal", a particular subject we're learning about in school, wherever. But I also get inspiration from my friend, Hillside Hollow. Her tastes aren't always mine, but she has yet to pick a bad book. She keeps a running list on the side of her blog. If I am lacking inspiration, I go there.

The last book I got off her lists is The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus by Tim Slover. Very good book. It was only 160 or so pages, but they flew by. I finished it in about an hour and a half. I highly recommend it. It could also be read to the family to help explain Santa and they hows and whys involved. I was thinking about reading it to my kids. I still haven't decided yet.

There is one passage at the end that struck a particular chord with me. It's true, unfortunately.


 "Alas! Too few are now the places where the Straight Road may find purchase on the earth. For as Saint Nicholas predicted, the demon struck at Christmas, and struck hard. Unable to come at Klaus himself, it has assaulted humanity. Hundreds of years of simple gifts freely given out of the fondness and mirth in Klaus's soul, gradually at first, and then more rapidly, have turned into a frenzy of commerce and competition, until many grow heartsick as Christmas approaches. And that is the demon's work."

That's what I mean. It has become something ugly and mean and we wanted no part of that. So we took no part in it. It isn't too late to change and start over and we needed to. We needed to break the cycle of commerce and competition. And we were the better for it.

The freezer is stocked, we have extra batteries for the Wii remotes, and you should see the pretty roast I bought for New Year's Day. We are going to eat the broccoli from our tower, which is big and beautiful. We are going to add our cowpeas from the tower to the black-eyed peas. We are going to drink sparkling grape juice at the stroke of midnight. We are looking forward to a new year and new traditions. What are you looking forward to?