It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

So, when I woke up this morning and realized it was really Christmas Eve, I felt confused. The time had sped by and suddenly it's the end of December. How on Earth that happened I don't know. I blinked and suddenly my final year of high school is half over. But the real thing that puzzled me was that it doesn't feel like Christmas. It feels like another day.

I've been playing the Michael Buble Christmas album over and over on my iTunes waiting for the magic to finally sink in. I made my boyfriend take me to see The Rise of The Guardians and I've watched Christmas flicks on Hallmark and ABC Family for weeks. So why doesn't it feel like Christmas?

I thought maybe it's because I'm Jewish and we celebrate Christmas because my dad's family is Catholic. Maybe I just stopped believing in Christmas magic. But I don't think that's true because when we left Rise of the Guardians, I felt like a little girl who remembered why she believed.

Maybe it's because we do Christmas all wrong. We open gifts on Christmas Eve and have a fancy meal on Christmas Day. But that's never stopped the magic before.

Well, what if I'm too old for Christmas? I struggled to argue with myself on this one because, as I've aged, I've begun to care less for the material things in life. But this question ultimately lead to the answer.

After pondering this question all morning, it just suddenly hit me that the message of giving has not been preached as thoroughly as in the past. I also haven't heard about the value of the immaterial either. Things with more meaning than just "What do you want?" My age does have something to do with it, I suppose, because I'm now old enough to hear the half-hearted "Merry Christmas" from the cashier at Wal-Mart. I'm old enough to see the greed in children's eyes even though they probably won't play with the toys they get beyond New Years. Christmas songs play on the radio at Thanksgiving already and lights go up at the same time. Christmas has lost much of it's value.

Hopefully, those who feel as I do, if there are such people, will find Christmas magic with their families instead of in their stockings. I'm planning on searching for Christmas magic withing my family, my boyfriend and his family, and God.

God Bless your families this holiday season.
Merry Christmas!
Please enjoy this video; it's very fun. If you like it, look up Straight No Chaser on YouTube. You won't be disappointed. (Check out the Twelve Days of Christmas)

Tragedy

First, I would like to extend my sincerest condolences to the families affected by this cold-blooded act. I would also like to express my own devastation at losing the lives of beautiful little children who had their entire lives to live and at losing the adults who had dreams, and families of their own. God bless those whom this tragedy has touched.

I know I haven't written in some time, and I had hoped to write on happier terms, but this issue needs to be addressed.

I heard about the shooting in my fourth period class from a fellow senior. I think everyone was too shocked to do anything but go back to their lives. We continued through the day praying. I'm sure our school, had the administration known, would have prayed as a group. After leaving school, I heard on the news that 26 people had been killed and 20 of them were small children.

I was disgusted to know that the perpetrator had shot himself. I have thought about pursuing Criminal Profiling and Psychology and with my general knowledge of psychology I am morbidly curious as to why. I don't know much about Adam Lanza, but it would take a truly psychotic person to murder children. This is not an excuse, but it is a reason to provide more mental heath avenues.

People will use this in political discussions about guns. This isn't about the guns. This is about getting help for people with mental disorders. This is about allowing profiling for suspicious people. This isn't about politics; it's about protecting American citizens. I don't want to discriminate any more than anyone else, but it's a little late to be profiling when people have already died. This was horrible, but it was also a cry for help.

President Obama gave a really beautiful speech yesterday: "The majority of those who died today were children — beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them — birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own." I was very moved by it. 

To the families of victims: I hope you find solace in knowing your loved ones are safe in Heaven with God. I hope you can find some shred of happiness and hope in the light of Christmas. May your neighbors, friends, and fellow countrymen be your rock and may God bless you all.

To everyone else: Please pray for these families. Remember them whilst you are having your Christmas dinners and waking up on Christmas morning. Send prayers to your Deity to ease the suffering that has settled over Newtown, Connecticut. 

May the Source of peace send peace to all who mourn and comfort to all who are bereaved. Amen