the 1st of december

Today is a very exciting day. Many of you already know why today is so special, but some of you are in the dark. So let me enlighten you! Today is the first day of December! Today is the day that all of those scrooges who hate Christmas music can officially be forced to give in. Today is the day that you start to feel that special spirit in the air that sends tremors of excitement through your whole body. The day that all of the little kids really start to get to work making their lists for Santa and start lining up in the malls for a chance to sit on his lap. The day that families start putting up their Christmas trees and lights and that little towns start to be able to be seen glowing in red and green from satellites in space. Today is the day that random Santa-impersonators start showing up at the front doors of Walmart and asking for money for various charities. Today is the day that seeing cute couples walking the streets wearing mittens and hats and holding hands suddenly gives you too much joy to be normal. Today is the day that starts "Ugly Christmas Sweater Thursdays". Today is the day that adorable little families can be seen in their front yards making their own little version of Frosty the Snowman. Today is the day that snow transitions from being a pesky annoyance on the road only out to make you wreck your car and freeze your tail off to being a lovely reminder of the Christmas season. Today is the day that the Christmas season officially starts!!! Honestly!?! Can you not feel that excitement?! I can!

This Christmas season is going to be a little bit different for me. There's still going to be the abundance of Christmas music, ugly sweaters, presents, and snow. But, this year I'm adding something more. All my life, my parents tried to always remind my of the true spirit of Christmas and of what the whole season is really about. But sometimes it just slipped through the cracks. So, this year, I am going to do my best to remember that Christmas is really supposed to be about our Savior Jesus Christ and His birth. I couldn't be there at the time of His birth to give Him a gift of gold or silver. But, I can give him the gift of caring for his children. I am going to try to make this Christmas less about receiving and more about giving to others. Because, Christ himself said, "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God". I have made a goal to do something extra, big or small, to help someone around me and to make their Christmas just a little bit brighter. I know that doing this will, in turn, make my Christmas better. (Which is hard. Because I already absolutely love Christmas and everything about it!)