Obi's Sister

This year I’ve been a little stumped as to what to include for a Christmas memory. There are still so many; how do I choose?

Then my little niece, The Divine Miss S, shared one about her recently deceased grandfather that I knew needing telling. You see, this is the second Christmas since her grandfather went to be with God. Last year, his loss was too new, too hard. This year, she was ready to tell her story. Her grandfather, my brother’s father-in-law, was the epitome of the cultured southern gentlemen. He was extremely well read, and full of funny stories, with a soft spot the size of Virginia for his grand children.

Ever the teacher and like most seniors, he had a special way with the little ones.

There has always been a tradition between my grandpa and me. Every time he would come up for a Christmas visit we would always count the lights on the back porch. When we would count the colors there was always a different number of each. I would count the colors and Grandpa would write them down. It was a very special moment for me because I got to spend time with my grandpa. When it was getting close to Christmas it would be something to look forward to every year. It was very special for me to spend time with him because I loved him so much and he was a great person to do that with.

So the next time you see colored lights on a house, think of the special times shared with little ones. They are so fleeting and precious. And remember Marvin, who counts all the lights up in Heaven now.

For other Christmas Memories posts, see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Some are sad, some are funny, but they are all very special to me.

Teh Awesome.

Luke 2:1-7

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

May you have a joyous and blessed Christmas!

…even Santa is having trouble finding work during Christmas.

While the jolly old elf hasn’t been reduced to holding a cardboard sign on street corners, proclaiming that he’ll ho-ho-ho for food, the post-recession times are tough on the world’s most famous deliveryman.

Metro Atlanta area Kriss Kringles say that their hours have been slashed; they haven’t had a pay raise in several years; and, even as Christmas Day closes in, their calendars are wide open for parades, office parties or sitting in the big chair at the mall to ask children if they’ve been naughty or nice.

Gary Casey, 71, of Duluth has been portraying St. Nick since 1996, and he says he’s never seen times this tough.

“Oh sugar,” he said. “In the good times, I’d have 400 bookings. But now I’m just barely breaking 100.”

Casey, who founded the company SantaAtlanta.com, said before the recession hit in 2007, he typically arranged appearances for more than 100 Santas. But, these days, he’s down to just 60 working Santas.

“There just isn’t enough work to go around,” he said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Being married to a “Santa-in-waiting”, so to speak, this comes as very bad news. Especially when thinking about retirement. We’ve talked about the hubster taking up something like this in his later years for a very long time.

Eric Winney, 52, of Buford is moonlighting this season with “Santa’s Lawn and Landscape Services.”

“Yes, Santa also cuts the grass for a living,” Winney said. “It helps pay the bills.”

Winney also has a side business of renting out actual reindeer to pull Santa’s sleigh in parades or make guest appearances for office parties.

“It’s been real slow,” he said. “We’ve got 30 reindeer that are pretty much idled.”

Cut grass? The hubster hates to cut grass. That’s what teenage boys are for. Oh my.

Both Winney and Casey say that, as Santa, they typically make between $150 and $200 an hour, albeit their Santa season is just in November and December. They haven’t raised their rates in years, and they say other Santas are charging even less.

“But we have real beards and authentic, high-end costumes,” Casey said. “Kids can tell a fake beard a mile away. And a dime-store costume just isn’t going to cut it. So, yes, that costs a little more.”

I bought the Santa pattern years ago. I have the outfit in my head. Visions of velvet and ribbon. A fur tipped cape. A bit Russian, a bit Irish, with tiny bells all the way down the stripe of his pants.

We can’t let the Grinch win now, can we?

The Anchoress has a great post on the Advent season. Read

…why I am inspired, this year, this Advent, this very night -O Holy Night- to keep Advent at the fore, and the World of Illusions and Easy Forgettings somewhere at bay, where I can not so easily reference it, or be so quickly distracted.

My favorite Advent devotional is at Following The Star. The music is especially moving. The site also has devotionals for other times of the year.

Now for the, ahem, Friendly Reminder. This site has a Comments Policy. Please read it. In fact, if you’re prone to invective discourse, perhaps you should read it aloud. While Stacy & Co. love a flame-war as much as the next, and in fact encourage vigorous debate as “Rule 4” in How to Get a Million Hit on Your Blog in Less Than a Year. While they relish the schoolyard skirmishes, I don’t. Nothing gets people into a “Bah, Humbug” mood than being subjected to other’s bad form and/or acting out, especially during the holidays. So behave yourselves, or be banned.

Merry Christmas.