RipStik of Death and a Christmas wish.

I've got all the pieces of Mom's Celtic Tote knitted, blocked, and drying as I type this. I'm all set to wrap Malachi's first real guitar and Noah's RipStik (of Death). I was hoping for really bad weather so that Noah couldn't try out said RipStik (of Death) but it's actually supposed to be almost fifty degrees and sunny. For goodness sakes it's OHIO! Why is it almost fifty degrees on Christmas Day?!? Good thing this kid of mine can rip it up on a board (no pun intended). What am I getting for Christmas? I have no idea. My dog was an early present from my folks but they still feel the need to get us each a couple of gifts. Mine is a ring of some kind. I only know b/c mom measured my finger with string and then took it with her. She and Dad ordered it from somewhere. I'm not sure what kind of ring but I have my suspicions. It's either the Claddagh I've been asking for (from everyone for any occasion that involves gift exchanging) or it's a mother's ring, or it's just a sapphire ring of some kind. I want a sapphire b/c it's Malachi's birthstone and I already have an amethyst for Noah's birthstone. I'm rambling. My folks have the flu so they won't actually be here tomorrow, but they'll be here in spirit. I'll see them next weekend. I recently asked my kids what Christmas was about and here's what they told me:
"Love, Family, and God." Yep. That's right. I may not be the world's best mom, but I'm raising these kids to know what's really important. Not presents, not offending people with my saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" (which incidentally if Merry Christmas offends you, get over yourself), not outdoing the neighbors with decorations, not having a super clean house or the most fantastic Christmas spread, not any of those things. Christmas is about love, family, and God. Note that I said Christmas. Not Kwanzaa, not Hanukkah, not the Solstice Celebration. I don't know anything about those Holidays so I can't honestly say what they are about (ok, I used to know about the Solstice Celebration, but honestly that was so long ago I may as well not know anything.) I know what my holiday is about. I know Jesus wasn't born in December, and that the celebration of Christ's Mass is richly symbolic and full of tradition which is not based solely on facts. I know that many of our traditions and symbolism originated in the pre-christian pagan tribes and were trans mutated into christian traditions. You see, that's what people do. Tradition is a very important part of what makes a people. It needs to be maintained even when the people as a whole become enlightened by the birth of the son of God. We know that there is no Santa Claus, but we honor the spirit of Saint Nick b/c he represents an important element of the Christmas season, the spirit of giving and love. Of course Jesus is the ultimate representation of this. Why does it irritate people so much to hear "Merry Christmas"? Can I remind everyone that, like it or not, this country was founded by Christians with Christian beliefs? Freedom of religion means freedom to celebrate as well. I don't appreciate people like Sage Turtle of the Quirky Nomads podcast posting an episode called "F*** Christmas" like she did last year at this time. I didn't say anything mean about it or get nasty in return, afterall she did follow my all time fav suggestion of, " If you don't like the country so much, move out." What I did do was just delete her podcast from the iTunes account. What I can't understand is why someone (who pretends to be superior to those of us so narrow-minded as to believe in Christ and send our kids to public school) can't just take the high road and leave well enough alone instead of resorting to obscenity to purposefully offend other people. I actually feel sorry for her. I don't know who hurt her, but I wish I could make it better for her. I wish I could make it better for everyone who was ever hurt or offended by me or any christian. I wish Christmas could be as wonderful a time of year for everyone else as it is for me. I am extremely blessed and believe me I know it. I pray that kind of blessing would be bestowed on more people. Merry Christmas cyberland, Merry Christmas. (Oh, and Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Solstice if those are your Holidays.) May your days be blessed.