**MAGIC**

I know it's not about the presents.
It really is not.
Especially now for me as an adult.
I love to give and am in want of nothing. Which I am grateful for everyday.

But the magic started with the presents.
It started with the anticipation of waiting for Santa to come on Christmas eve and the sheer, overflowing JOY of seeing our living room on Christmas morning. The spilling of the gifts from under the tree that stretched across the room was AWEsome. Truly.
And thinking back on that time I know that this is how I learned to appreciate the magic that is surrounded by Christmas.
Because when Christmas comes we can be together.
When there is an underlying excitement and suspense and BELIEF then other stressors and anger and real world type stuff can be put aside for a while. Because when we feel this good we want others to feel it too, and we try to spread out cheer the ways that we can.


When Kara posed the question at the beginning of the season about what inspires us could only think of this.
This time of year will always be magical for me, and now with a child it has a renewed spirit and life. I am thankful everyday of the work that I do and the people I get to meet doing it. On the day before Christmas eve I met a patient who was POW in Germany for two years during WWII, and his wife was telling me the story of going to his funeral. I sat in awe of their story and had in the back of my mind how blessed I have been. I am moved by everyone around me, and will try to share their stories, good and bad, to help inspire others. And I will try not to do it only around Christmas.

I will remember seeing our Christmas tree from the olden days, and build magic for others like was done for me.






btw...despite a brief ER visit...X had a GREAT christmas