Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Is Santa Real?..

Ah yes, the famous question responsible for shattered dreams and for crushing the once firmly established knowledge based on a strong belief. Yes, I know that Santa, the one that lives at the North Pole and makes toys for all the children in the world and manages to deliver them all in one night, is indeed not real. Though no one would disagree that if such a person did exist life would be that much more awesome.

But as for the rest of us, I personally transitioned my belief in Santa as a real individual to a belief in the "spirit of Santa." The spirit of Santa is the remarkable power that makes parents buy all those wonderful gifts for their children. That same spirit helps our hearts grow two sizes each year as we donate our food, clothing, money, time or other goods to those in need. The spirit of Santa is one that establishes faith and goodwill to all the people we pass by on the street. That same spirit which makes us do incredibly kind things to people we don't even know. I'm sure you've noticed something interesting about the spirit of Santa. Yes, it is very similar to charity which is the pure love of Christ. Deep down it is another offspring of the true meaning of Christmas.

Will I teach my kids about Santa? Of course I will! If you ask me if I believe in Santa I will tell you "Of course!" You may be thinking that I have just contradicted myself but let me finish here (you have no choice, it's my blog and you can't stop me). When we were talking about this many years ago my dad said "well, if you don't believe in Santa how will you get any presents from him?" In our family our tradition is that we have our "under the tree presents" and then we leave out our stockings on the couch so that Santa can deliver his presents there. I want to see presents there so of course I believe in Santa! If you don't you might want to. After all, "how can you get presents from someone you believe doesn't exist?"

Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Season Is...

My favorite season is Winter when there is snow. Snow transforms our world into a white wonderland and somehow it always feels warmer when there is snow on the ground. It's like the snow traps in all the cold and leaves the outside air only slightly chilly (or maybe when we see snow outside we just dress warmer and bundle up). When there is no snow on the ground it's like a dog named Frostbite is running around and we all know what that's like.

Right?

Otherwise my favorite season is Fall.

"Creeper" Should Be Erased From Our Vocabulary...

So I'm not exactly sure when the word "creeper" was coined into becoming a key term that girls started using to describe "boys (that they don't know) who suddenly ask them on a date or ask them personal questions out of the blue during the first initial conversation" or something like that. I imagine when this word was first used it described stalker-type individuals who were shady to begin with or (to be blunt) boys who were literally "creepy" because they aren't exactly attractive. Thanks to Hollywood and other stories we can't even trust the handsome man with the sparkling smile at the Christmas party without labeling him as a "creeper" too. So what does this mean and what does it have to do with the post title? I'll tell ya what it means (of course, this is all in my opinion based on observation and personal experience and does not apply to every girl).

1. Even normal nice guys who want a date can't just go and talk to a girl they are interested in because they fear they will be labeled or seen as a creeper.
2. It has almost annihilated the concept of "love at first sight."
3. Girls are always on the defense of "creepers" during a first conversation and it makes the whole question and response process very awkward (and quite needlessly too).
4. Asking out a brand new girl that doesn't know you is nigh improbable regardless of the situation.
5. Stake/School Dances require guts and nerves of steel in order to dance with several new girls.
6. Girls can't tell if a nice guy is really just nice or pretending to be nice all "creeper-like."
7. For those who were not born with the most attractive qualities dating is an impossible nightmare.

Therefore I would wish that we could either erase "creeper" from our vocabulary or just use it appropriately for those that really send out threatening vibes when we talk to them instead of finding it a suitable label for "that one new kid in my class that suddenly asked me out." Amazing how the use of one word can change the dating game into a overly complicated mess.