Merry Christmas
Yesterday, I drove back home after visiting family in Chattanooga. I had to stop by Dunlop to drop off my niece at my sister’s house. Instead of coming back home the usual way, which is up Highway 8 to McMinnville, I decided to turn west on Highway 399 then on to Highway 108, which would take me through Gruetli-Laager and the old house where my grandparents lived. I don’t have much cause to drive this road these days. My grandmother sold the old house after my grandfather died, but seeing the house and all of the familiar locations only reinforced the nostalgic feeling I’ve been having lately.
I thought about Christmastime 25 or so years ago on “The Mountain”. Now, my memories are probably colored by all the time that has passed by, but it seems like the world actually took that single day to catch it’s breath. You had to plan ahead if there was something you were going to need on Christmas day, because everything was going to be closed and the day was set aside to be with family and friends. There didn’t seem to be such a mad rush. And not just Christmastime, but all the time. Can’t we do without the availability of Coca-Cola and Twinkies and whatever else they have down at the Golden Gallon for one lousy day. A side note: Can we not do without a cell-freakin’-phone for two hours at the movie theater! Not too long ago people suffered without these conveniences and yet the Earth still spins.
And where are people running so fast to get to? We all seem to work or travel more and people seem more concerned with the acquisition of things rather than the acquisition of experiences. Yeah I’m guilty of these things too. But I hope tomorrow, at least, I can slow down and enjoy my family. If I’m lucky my children will someday remember fondly the Christmas’s of their childhood and wonder when and how things all got so hectic. And hopefully we’ve remembered all of the items that we’ll need tomorrow so that I won’t be giving those convenience store and fast food restaurant owners a reason to prevent their employees from doing the same.
Have a Merry Christmas everyone!