Christmas Pageant

Let me start by saying that I still believe in Santa Claus. I know that a fat man in a red velvet suit does not come sliding down my chimney, but there is something magical that happens at Christmas. The world gets ... kinder. People care more about other people. And while there is the occasional fist fight at Walmart ('nuff said) over the toy du jour, by and large, people seem to focus on love, compassion and charity (in the informal sense) more than at any other time during the year. If that's not magic, I don't know what is.













Always appreciate of this phenomenon, I have never "lost" the Christmas spirit. But having children reintroduces you to the giddiness of the season. So for me, one of the true highlights of December was Jack's school Christmas show. It was short and sweet - 15 minutes max. But nothing puts you in the Christmas spirit more than watching little kids shake their bells and shout (I do mean shout) out "Jingle Bells."


Jack had been singing his class' Christmas songs for weeks but at the pageant, he chose to watch all the other children instead of singing himself (that's Jack on the right wearing the red shortall). I loved him for that. He too was taken in by the sheer joy of Christmas, entranced by the wonderful sounds that only a preschool choir can make.

The real treat for Jack was having Billy, Kennon and Lulu in the audience. They even got the always hilarious preschool "shout out" while he was up on stage.

And of course there were the celebratory cookies and lemonade shared with his two best buddies. As days go, this was a pretty good one...