I seems to me as I go through life I do not know where little things that influence my thinking and move me in a different direction will come from.

When she was a very small child and it seemed barely able to speak, my son and his family including our granddaughter, Regan came to visit one day. Grandpaw (me) was sitting on the front porch enjoying a cigar and probably a beer. Regan looked up at me with her beautiful 2 year old face and stated, “You know grampa, that is very unhealthy!” She was right of course so I quit smoking. Not right away it took a couple years and I still miss having a cigar now and then. My grandfather smoked cigars and I thought they smelled good. Cigar smoke reminds me of him, I suppose.

These days I have been moping around with no Christmas spirit or interest in the holidays for that matter. Cheryl was always the driving force behind our Christmas celebrations. The past couple years I was tasked with the shopping duties for the grandkids. Since I consider myself to be a lazy shopper but efficient, I texted the kiddos and asked them for ideas about what they thought they might want for Christmas. Often I did not hear back from Maxwell. This year without asking I heard from him first. He bumped me out of my morose humbug thoughts about Christmas, the holidays, gift giving and the rest of it.

Thanks, Max. Thanks for getting me out of my sadness. It is maybe not completely gone but I am moving in a different direction. And sure, if you want that, I will get it for you. Merry Christmas!

Carpe Diem.