The Open File - Time for Christmas

The Open File

by Life Master Mike Petersen (Zug)

Time for Christmas

Nobody seems to have time for Christmas anymore.  I hear it at work all the time.  "When am I going to have time to do all my shopping?" or "I hate all the Christmas rush!  There just isn't any time anymore!"  Yeah, I agree.  Christmas has become one giant dollar bill in the minds of most retailers, today...and well it should!  A successful Christmas season dictates to most retail chains whether or not the bottom line will be red or black for the year.
 
And you know something?  I have just as little time available for Christmas as anyone else I know.  But it doesn't bother me.  No, I don't "make time" for shopping.  I frantically find time for it as I can.  Nor do I have time to do all the nice things we'd all like to do for the holidays.  You know, like volunteer to bring hot meals to those who can't get out...things like that.  I don't organize any "toys for tots" or start a canned food drive.  Nope.  I don't have time for Christmas, either, but I love it just the same.
 
I love it because of what I find in it to remember.  What are the holidays, anyway?  After they pass, they're just memories.  It's up to us to make the memories good or bad.  Just because there is no time to do all the things that might make the holiday "special" doesn't mean it won't be.  For example, I remember last Christmas.  I was straggling around the malls, looking for just the right gift for my wife.  Finally, after just about giving up, something caught my eye.  I wasted no time in grabbing it off the shelf, paying for it, driving it home and wrapping it up.  It's funny.  All the hours staggering around looking for her present were forgotten the moment I saw the look in her eyes when she opened the box on Christmas morning.  It's that moment I remember most.
 
Another example.  Just a couple of days ago, I was on my final leg of a multi-hop jet ride from Germany to Florida.  The plane was filled to the gills.  The flight attendants were absolutely swamped, and as a result, some were in bad moods just like the passengers.  But there was one attendant who wasn't giving in.  She continued to be pleasant and smile as she serviced the sea of passengers.  Finally, she came to my seat and offered me more coffee.  I accepted, but then stopped her.  "Wait a moment.  I just want to tell you what a good job I think you're doing, today.  In spite of all the hassles, you're pleasant and smiling, and I think that's just great!"  Well, she thanked me, of course, but that wasn't what made the flight memorable.  As I was getting off at the airport, she stopped me at the door.  "Wait, sir.  I want to tell you that you made my day a little while ago.  The nice compliment, especially at this holiday time of year, made me remember what the Christmas spirit is all about.  Thank you!"
 
Ahh...made my day, too.  And it took no time at all to make it happen.  You see, what I have learned is that Christmas isn't "time".  It's moments you remember that make Christmas what it is.  You don't have to have "time for Christmas."  It only takes a moment.

Merry Christmas.

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