Let's hear it for Christmas spirit

The holiday season is in full swing, and it is especially joyous for me this year. Christmas with an exuberant 3-year-old is certainly a wonder to behold.

My husband and I used to deck the halls in a matter of hours. With our little elf assisting us this year, it has taken considerably longer. Decorations emerge from their storage boxes a little at a time and are always greeted with exclamations of excitement and delight from our son, Sam. Discussions as to where to set up the nativity or place the stockings can take days.

I wouldn't trade any of this for the world.

What a joy to experience Christmas through the eyes of my sweet son. I realize now that so much of what I do around this busy time of year has become routine and uninspired. All the shopping, list-making, cooking, wrapping, driving, mailing, eating, going, has left me feeling, well, a little Charlie Brown-ish over the last few years.

So the other night we settled in to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" together. Sam and I had our mugs of cocoa and were snuggled together on our red over-stuffed chair, ready for the program to begin. I kissed the top of his freshly shampooed head and knew that there was nowhere else I'd rather be than with him, sitting quietly in our house, watching this beloved show together for the very first time.

I chuckled at Charlie Brown's frustration and dismay over the commercialization of Christmas and his search for meaning among the chaos. Then it came to the part where Linus stands in front of the other children and recites the biblical passage about an angel of the Lord appearing before the shepherds and announcing the birth of the Savior.

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

After he speaks, Linus turns to Charlie Brown and says simply, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie, Brown."

And it hit me.

This program is over 40 years old. The hustle and bustle that I experience today was felt back when the show was created, and even before then. All I really have to do is choose to see the magic and wonder of the season, instead of allowing myself to be caught up in the busy-ness that I create.

It's a thought that's occurred to me before, but I never fully grasped the idea until that very moment.

When the program was over, Sam looked at me with a sparkling smile and said, "That show was funny, Mama."

How grateful I am for children, who often show us the way just by being themselves.

However you choose to celebrate this magical time of year, I hope you are filled with a sense of joy and peace. May your days be merry and bright!

-- Amy Roby can be reached at RanchosRoundup@hotmail.com.