Growing up, Christmas was a magical time around our home. My mother worked diligently to ensure that, while we may not have had much, we had enough and every little gift had meaning - the whole day had meaning. The whole season had meaning. It was about fellowship, the exchange of our real gift of love to one another. The dinner was always something to anticipate, the stories and of course, watching a few of the Christmas specials on television were part of the fun. Of course, my brother and I had our traditional moments - like making Christmas lists.
I thought today I'd share some of the items on my big dream Christmas list. It's changed over the years, but maybe yours is similar - and remember - the sky is the limit here. Live on the edge and fantasize about Christmas wishes, make it your wildest dreams and who knows? You may receive a Christmas miracle. Okay...probably not. But it's fun anyway.
1. Make Peace. Over the course of my 50 years on this planet, I have succeeded in pissing off probably hundreds of people and hurt the feelings of a bunch as well. If possible, and I'm sure it isn't, it would be nice to have a few moments of peace with these people. I know for a fact that some folks just aren't interested in peace and much prefer war, but the rest of them would be nice to have reconciliation with.
2. Weekend With Kids. I'd like to have a weekend with all of my kids. Just one where they were all together and getting along and doing so without distraction or angst. I love all my kids and I suck at showing it...which leads to the next wish...
3. Love More. I guess that "loving more" isn't a correct description, but rather I want to be able to show my loved ones that I really do love them and do so more frequently. In contrast to most of my biological family, I'm pretty open about my feelings, but that isn't saying much, really. My family is pretty stoic.
4. Seattle Supersonics. It was a total dick move (in my opinion) to pick up and move the basketball team from Seattle to Oklahoma City. I'm happy for Oklahoma City to be sure, but I sure wish that Seattle would get a team back - the fans have learned their lessons.
5. Stop Gridlock. Politics is by design, adversarial. The two-party system is hard-wired to be adversarial and will continue to be so. Yet, for Christmas, wouldn't it be nice if the GOP and the Democratic Party would do something that really does improve the quality of life here in America? Just get along for a little while and solve some problems. Stop the posturing and just get things done.
6. Veteran's Salvation. The Veteran's Administration has problems and the biggest problem is that it is not funded appropriately. Yeah, that's right - it's not funded as it should be.
7. One Day Pain-Free. For a few years now, I've rose out of bed with some degree of pain. Coupled with the medication I have to take every day, life is just one big foggy moment of ouchiness followed by flashes of moderate pain. Frankly, the trips to the ER only to be told that there's not a lot that can be done for pain management has just about gotten me to the end of my rope. There are a number of reasons why I'd love to return to my home state of Washington, but the legalization of medicinal marijuana does make it even more attractive - though I haven't used it myself.
8. Stayin' Alive. I know it isn't something to discuss during the Christmas holiday, but the truth is that I'd love to have old Santa bring me a wall to build in my mind to shut off the thoughts of getting off of this ride.
9. Family Reunion. One big, massive, family get-together with the whole family from Virginia to Seattle. Cook enough ribs to make Fred Flintstone jealous and put aside petty bullshit and just enjoy each other's company.
10. Bring Back Dexter. It was a shame when Showtime cancelled that program, and the series finale was abrupt, emotional and really left it open for more shows. Showtime needs to do us all a favor and bring it back. It's my Christmas wish, after all.