Merry Christmas from Where It Will Be 79 degrees Today

I woke up this morning and said to K “Good Morning and Merry Christmas”. It felt good, felt positive.And then I fell back to sleep.3 minutes later the girls ran into the room and we were up. Christmas morning had begun.I find that I don’t think of Christmas in the same way at all as an adult as I did when I was a kid. Even if you factor out the presents, Christmas was a time of magic: Flying reindeers, Bethlehem, the Manger and the animals looking onto the tiny figure of Jesus, misteltoe, a place at the North Pole that made toys and had a better one-day distribution system than Amazon. Elves!Of course, now it is different. I get that. I’m 41 years old and my Christmas is really about providing the magic to others, namely my kids. There is a feeling of being a stage manager at an illusionist show. I’m backstage trying to make sure that the show goes off well and the ticket holders feel like they got their money’s worth. The magic is from the moments that I help create for those around me. The Christmas tree and the presents are just window dressing for me now.All that being said, there is something that I have found that I really do appreciate with Christmas, or just the Holidays in general, as an adult. I feel that most people make an extra effort to be kind, to be appreciative, to be compassionate during this time of year. Though the TV news loves to tell stories of idiots getting into fights over Black Friday sales, that’s really not my experience. I may not feel the magic of Christmas in the same way I did as a kid, but I do appreciate the effort that people try to preserve the sentiment, especially when this time of year is so stressful for so many. It isn’t a giant robot delivered by Santa, but it has its own value and I am thankful nonetheless.So, I salute all my fellow stage managers that do the heavy lifting on Christmas, the ones that keep the dream going for all those around us. Well done and have a wonderful holiday!Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to pretend that it is snowing outside and watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.