Share to the full
Just one of the amazing ice sculptures on display at Gaylord ICE!
National Harbor, Maryland, November 2011
“Let the children have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us…”
— Winston Churchill, in his Christmas Eve message of 1941
Have you ever wondered how many things we do “for the children” are actually an excuse for us to have some fun? Never is this happy proclivity more obvious than during the holidays. I hope you are able to indulge in some childlike fun, whether or not you have actual children around to share it. A good shot of youthful delight is a great emotional immunization for the coming winter.
One year ago today:
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: belief, children, Christmas, enchantment, faith, Father Christmas, fun, games, history, imagination, joy, magic, play, World War II
Defeat Despair 
Good morning, Julia!
For some reason, it didn’t even cross my mind to try to decorate this year. Past years, we’ve usually decorated on my birthday. This year, we listened to the Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas album, but didn’t take out any decorations.
I’d like to say it’s because of the pandemic and not expecting any guests, but I think it’s more likely the lack of children around.
Yes, children definitely provide the excuse I need to “waste” a lot of time on decorating. If I didn’t have such an over-the-top Christmas tree with thousands of lights and ornaments, it would be easier to put it up. For now, I’m content with no decorating whatsoever. I can’t even get motivated to hang one of my several wreathes on the door. Somehow, a bare home seems strangely appropriate for Christmas 2020.