Sixty eight..........

   Sixty eight could be the year I graduated from college or the number of foul shots I missed before I made the first one in a very limited high school basketball career. It could be the number of fish I have caught (and threw back) or the year of my favorite car (Mustang). But with Christmas just a few days away, this will be my sixty eighth Christmas celebration. I don't remember too many Christmas holidays as a very young child, but as I grow older the holiday seems to take on  new meaning each year.

   Sixty eight years sounds and feels like a long time. (My knees and joints often remind me of that.) A great deal has happened in the world since 1946. There have been numerous wars, a host of famous and infamous world leaders, new and wonderful scientific discoveries, catastrophic weather and political events, all whose impacts and outcomes still not fully known or understood.

   Millions of children have been born and taken their places in the world, but millions also have died because of disease or lack of food, deaths, the result of a world that often turns a blind eye on those who are different or who others in the world may fear.

   In the last sixty eight years paper and pencils have been replaced with computers and Ipads and spell check. Telephones, once tightly fastened to walls and desktops, now slip neatly inside a pocket or purse and travel with us no matter where we go, keeping us in constant communication with the rest of the world. Who  in 1946, would have ever believed that a television show, perhaps the “I Love Lucy” reruns would be viewed on a telephone that fits in your pocket?

   Over the years family Christmas celebrations have evolved also. I grew older, went off to college, got married and with my wife,  started our own family raising three wonderful daughters. Once only parents, our parents were now grandparents and Christmas took on different meanings for them too.

   Within that sixty eight years our children grew up, went off to school, married and started families of their own. Once parents, we were now the grandparents too.

   In sixty eight years there have been a lot of Christmas trees cut down and decorated, thousands of cookies baked, eaten and given to neighbors and friends and more than a few turkeys and hams cooked for Christmas dinners. I personally like the 'left overs'.

   There have been hundreds of presents bought, wrapped and returned because they were either too big, too small or the wrong color.

   In sixty eight years I wonder how many times “Silent Night” has been sung or the birth of Jesus reenacted at the local churches. But while the world has changed dramatically over the years, the story of Jesus, which dates back long, long before 1946, remains consistent.

   This year will be my sixty eighth Christmas and I look forward to it and many more. I know that as each day passes the world becomes a different place, some parts good, other parts, I'm not so sure. But within a few days it will be Christmas Eve and despite all that's happening around the world, both the good and the bad, it is still a special time for many, including one sixty eight year old living in Maine.

   And to those around the globe who attempt to disrupt and destroy, perhaps out of fear or ignorance, on the eve of December 24^th, I encourage you to put down your guns and, for just a few minutes, be silent. Listen to the silence. Perhaps when the sun comes up the next morning, you will have a new understanding of  what “peace” can bring.

PS......To those who may be reading this, I am well aware that some of your beliefs and ideas may be different than mine. But I do believe that this diversity adds richness to life and that our hopes for the future, regardless of what you believe, are similar. Working together we can all make the world a better place.
                                                Holiday wishes to all!