When I was about six years old, my sister took me and her daughter to play Goony Golf on a Sunday afternoon. What began as just a fun outing playing miniature golf ended with my two front teeth floating down the little stream on hole 14, a big old gash in my lip and my sister telling me it was my fault for standing too closely behind her when she decided to take an Arnold Palmer kind of swing at the golf ball sitting on the ugly green felt beneath her feet. It's probably a good thing that I don't remember much after the steel club popped me in the mouth, except for the blood ... I do remember there was a lot of blood. Fortunately, there was no permanent damage to my face or mouth, but it took a good two years for my two permanent front to grow in. I made my sister feel bad as often as I possibly could for the golfing accident ... don't judge me ... I got a ton of great stuff from milking her guilt for all it was worth ... you bet I did. I personally lived the atrocious song "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth," and I can promise you it wasn't much fun. Looking back on it now, what happened was really quite comical ... in a warped and twisted kind of way, of course.
You'll be happy to know that my permanent teeth did eventually grow in, and you'll be even happier to know that I still have them ... seriously ... that's a big deal when you get to be my age. I'm not sure why that particular childhood memory has been stuck in my head all day, but the more I've thought about it, the more I've come to realize how very much my wants for Christmas have changed. I can't lie and say there aren't any things I want ... of course there are still things I'd like to have. But I can honestly say that I want more than things is people ... what I really want for Christmas is to spend time with the people I love. I spent last weekend with my daughter and son-in-law ... I had Skype Christmas with Brad and Shelby a couple of nights ago ... and tomorrow, God willing, I'll be celebrating with Matt, Becca, Coraline and Amelie. I hugged everyone who'd let me at work before leaving for the holidays, and I chatted with some dear friends and wished them a merry Christmas and a blessed new year. That's all I want for Christmas, friends ... all I want for Christmas is time. Time to spend with the people I love and the people who, for reasons I'll never be able to comprehend, want to spend time with me.
Celebrate merrily and happy, friends, and tell me ... what's your "all I want for Christmas" wish?
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