Eve

"There's something in the air today that's good for everyone;
Yes, faith is in our hearts today, we're shining like the sun.
And everyone can feel it, the feeling's running deep,
After all, there's only one more sleep till Christmas." - A Muppet Christmas Carol

The tingling feeling that starts in your heart and works its way out to your fingertips every time you think of tomorrow morning.  The way the Christmas tree looks right before you go to bed, still no presents under it, but just waiting to be filled with who knows what?  Thinking about the taste of too much chocolate on your tongue and the zing of the orange afterward.  Feeling giddy with excitement to see Mom and Dad open the presents you got them, and even more giddy to open the ones with your name on them.

This is Maeve's first Christmas, and everything is new.  I used to savor those feelings year after year, and she will have a few of them tonight, although she doesn't yet know what's coming.  I am so much more excited than she is this year, and this is the very last year that will be true ... until maybe she's a teenager.

Christmas, in our family, is a time to be kind, to be generous, to give to one another and enjoy the smile on each other's faces.  We won't go to a church, we put Maeve on Santa's lap, we will drink lots of cocoa and eat special foods and enjoy the time together.  Everyone has their own way of celebrating, and ours is this.

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, friends.  May your days be merry and bright.