Hallie's the Awesome-est!!

(Like awesome-est is a word. But she is!)

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We'll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year...

So we've broken out the Charlie Brown Christmas DVD, and we've got the Vince Guaraldi Trio soundtrack playing on the iPod rotation. How much Charlie Brown-ier could we get? Hallie, the ever observant and loving woman she is, saw me spying replicas of the pathetic little tree from the show for sale on line and found a way.

We saw a smaller version of the tree in one of those Running Press books-in-a-box, and I vaguely thought that it would be fun to buy. So today Hallie goes to the bookstore, and what does she bring home? That's right! Books for our niece and nephews. Oh, yeah. And the mini book and tree!

There are people I know who aren't big Charlie Brown fans, which is fine. He agonizes too much (one of our med student friends calls him "clinically depressed"), but we're on a journey with him as he tries to make sense of Christmas, and we all can relate to his angst, at least once in a while. I love the part of the show where Linus explains to Charlie and the other kids what Christmas is all about:

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

That's it. Somehow, hearing the Christmas story inspires Charlie to find a way to make his little tree work. A little magic handwaving by the kids, and sure enough! Things turn out just fine.

It is ironic that I think my wife is awesome for going to a store and buying me a gift intended to remind me that Christmas is not about commercialism and instead about the birth of our Savior and the worth of souls, but such is life in a postmodern age. I juggle incompatible realities like these all the time in my career, so why not in my personal life?

OK, this blog post is trailing off. I don't have anything more profound to give you. Just wanted to say that Hallie's the best. In fact, now I'm going to ruin the mood. Here's a final related bit of something funny we found on YouTube last year. Enjoy! Hey Ya! Charlie Brown Style