We’re in a rush here today, dudes.
For those of you who celebrate, this is one of the busiest days of the Christmas season. We’ve made a list, checked it twice and all that jazz, but we’re probably still running around crazy, trying to make sure we’ve got what we need.
Not much will be open tomorrow, so we need to stock up on the necessities.
For now, though, it’s time to start snuggling in with the family.
When they were younger, the little dudes and I used to crowd around the computer screen and watch as NORAD tracked Santa Claus on his yearly trip around the world.
These days, of course, they’re much too grown up to do anything that silly.
So it’ll be just me, logging onto the NORAD Tracks Santa site. Watching as the Jolly Old Elf starts his journey and hitting refresh with increasing intensity as he nears the east coast of the United States.
This is one of my favorite nights of the year.
The rest of the family will go to bed and I’ll stay up, making sure the stockings are ready, hung by the chimney with care.
I’ll sit in the quiet, beside a dying fire and smile, knowing that soon my family will arise and walk downstairs, ready to glimpse the goodies left by Santa, looking to see if maybe, just maybe, there’s a bite out of the cookies we left out. If the level of milk is a little lower.
Because, even when they get older, even when they’re maybe my age, there just might be a little bit of a believe still squirreled away inside their brains. Just a little bit.
Not so much with me. There’s nothing about the bit of belief still in my head.
I still believe.
And this is one of my favorite nights of the year.
Merry Christmas, dudes. Enjoy your time.
