Amid the chaos of Christmas shopping and the world ending....

Christmas isn't the panicked shoppers racing around the mall, trying to find the perfect gift for a random friend they don't even really talk to. It's not the people diving into coffee shops for what they consider a much needed Quad Venti Gingerbread Latte, regardless of the fact that their eyes are already spinning in their heads from their last caffeine boost. Nor is it the massive tree hurdling down the highway, barely strapped onto the roof of tiny car. It's not the heated debate over whether employees should say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" to customers.

Christmas is the boy standing with his trumpet in front of the grocery store, playing carols as he stands by a Salvation Army tin. It's the older man singing along with the trumpet as he loads groceries into his car, his deep voice never faltering, even when the trumpet player misses an occasional note. It's his wife, standing nearby and smiling softly and humming along in harmony as she watches him help her with the bags she can no longer lift. 

How many things do people miss as they barrel down the aisles at the store, trying to find the one ingredient they need that is no where to be found? 

Next time you're out, panicked and irritable because some moron almost ran you over while trying to race another driver for the last parking spot, take a second and look at everyone around you. Aside from the drivers who probably should never have been given a license in the first place. 

You might see twin five year old girls in matching pink fuzzy coats trying to decide what to get their older brother for Christmas. The frazzled woman who is running the check out counter at the store might be counting down the minutes until her son comes home from his deployment in Afghanistan, just in time to celebrate the holiday with the family. The couple waiting in line behind you for a table at the restaurant might be there to celebrate 61 years of marriage before their children and grandchildren come into town. 

Christmas only comes once a year, don't miss this one because you are too distracted by the lack of essential ingredients in your pantry or by the fact that your in-laws are coming into town for the first time in 12 years. Smile at the UPS guy as he drops your package off, ask the girl who is ringing up your 15 boxes of unsweeted baking chocolate how she's doing, drop a dollar in the tin at the door of the grocery store. 

My favorite part of Christmas is going with my family to take cookies to the firemen on Christmas Eve. Their looks of surprise and then the grins that appear when they realize it's for them is beyond priceless. Don't forget the people who work non-stop through the holidays to take care of the world around them.

Merry Christmas :)