Away in a Manger is one of my favorite Christmas carols, but it takes so many liberties with the Christmas story. Do stars really look? was there hay in the manger? and there are no details about the livestock in attendance.
I think the cow has a point. If you ever heard a donkey bray, you know it would be hard to sleep through that. Then again, the lyrics flow as it is. Who wants to sing about a braying donkey? I’ll leave it as is.
Christmas trees can be one of those traditions that can cause disasters. Is it too big, too short, too full, or too sparse? Did your family always do a real tree or is artificial the way to go because of all the sap and clean up?
And don’t even get aquatic creatures started on the hassles of getting a tree. You just can’t keep one in an aquarium without weighing it down with a ton of lead garland!
Nobody says “tape” anymore, do they? Somebody can’t tape you if they are using a smartphone or a digital recorder, can they?
I am old enough to remember when I taped my kids during Christmas. I don’t know where the videotape is now. Perhaps my kids got rid of the evidence. Or as we like to say around the house, “It must be in storage!”
At any rate, I could have taped some great death-defying scenes if I had stunt doubles for my kids. Then again, it’s difficult to find a stunt double that looks like a preschooler.
Most kids aren’t as brash as this little guy. But this time of year, it gets easy to compare and wonder if Bobby is getting as much or more than the rest of us.
However, Christmas is not a competition. The only way to experience it with joy is to remember the first Christmas gift. After that first gift, nothing else comes close.
One of the best moments in sports is when competitors shake hands after a hard-fought game. Sportsmanship is what makes games great. Whenever I see a player take things too personally, the fun goes right out of the game for me.
Who knows which player was on the winning team in this cartoon. What matters is that when you have played a challenging game, you leave your aggression on the field, pick yourself up and make a friend or two on the opposing team. When that happens, no matter who won, it really is a good game!