A THANKFUL CHRISTMAS TIME
By: Wayne Brown
December the 5th marked my tenth consecutive month here on the HubPages. This will be the 315th hub which I have posted in that period of time. I came here hoping to write a couple of stories about my youth and growing up. That goal soon fell by the way side as I expanded the areas into which I ventured here receiving only positive encouragement from those who read my work.
December is also the time of my birth. In fact today is my birthday. I would not advise anyone to choose December, especially late December for your birthday as one tends to always play second fiddle to the Holiday Season. That’s okay though…it gives me a little something extra to share with the Christ Child who we celebrate each and every Christmas Season in our lives.
It is also a time in which I realize how much I have to be thankful for in this life. I have a job which has been quite secure for the past 34 years of service for me. I have a fantastic wife and some great family who celebrate my life far more than I do. And I have two great dogs, Cash and Callie, who love me without qualification and in spite of my faults. Life could be a lot worse and for the fact that it is not, I am very thankful to God, my family, and my friends….oh yes, and my employer! LOL!
I have much to be thankful here on the Hub as well. I have grown as a writer in many ways here in the past ten months. I have made many friendships here and also discovered some very talented writers who I take great pleasure in reading every chance that I get to visit them. I have developed a great confidence in my ability to write and write across many subjects. For the first time in life, rather than everyone else thinking of me as a writer, I too embrace the label. I owe that development and confidence to those who have followed me, stuck with me, and offered a lot of strong encouragement on my writings. I am very thankful to have found HubPages and the many friends that I have made.
Life has a funny way of shining the light in just the right direction at just the right moment. For so many years, I wanted to sing and play the guitar. I was okay at it and still do it but I wanted to be so much better. I felt that it was a calling for me; that entertainment was in my blood and my genes. But God wanted me to be a writer apparently and eventually showed me the way to find that talent within myself. I am still kind of upset that he didn’t help me more with the guitar and voice but that’s okay, I ‘ll keep working on it. Perhaps there is still time to hone that skill although it does not come as easily as writing does to me.
Christmas and the Holiday Season, the New Year and the celebrations associated with it, are such wonderful magic times in our lives no matter how many times we experience them. I hope that we will all find that magic again for ourselves this year. I also hope that all my wonderful friends here on the Hub will have a safe and happy Holiday experience. Whatever your religion, whatever your belief, there is always room this time of year for everyone to celebrate some aspect of their lives…religious or not. For no other reason, we can all celebrate our friendship and support and wish each other much success in the coming year. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy, Happy New Year to all! WB
A Christmas Poem
A rare snow falls upon the prairie, Christmas is on the way
Friends and family gather to celebrate love on this special day
Bearing gifts and food, hugs and kisses all around
Tis’ Christmas in the West and love is all abound
Jingle bells on horses pulling sleighs upon the falling snow
Lights, tinsel, and glitter almost everywhere you go
Celebrating a time when the Christ Child would be born
To save mankind of his sins on a snowy December morn
Children laugh and sing, anticipating the joy old Santa brings
Decorating the tree with berries and popcorn on strings
Such a happy, joyous time all across this land
A time to reach out and offer a helping hand
Celebrate life and love and all that God has given
Celebrate that Christ is there with his father in Heaven
Give thanks for all you have and all that you can give
Gives thanks for opportunity for the life that you live
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL & GOD BLESS!
© Copyright WBrown2010. All Rights Reserved
Comments
AUTHOR@Truckstop Sally...I don't write much of Cash and Callie because I have to set the stage by writing about their predecessor, Lexi, who was a Shih Tzu as well. She died tragically about four years ago. It was a severe blow for us and I don't think either Barbara or I have ever gotten completely over it. We just put the emotions away. I am a Christmas baby as well...the 23rd! Got all my presents at the same time...another emotional scaring! LOL! WB
I found the perfect hub tonight!! Would love to hear more about Cash and Callie.
Yes! You are a writer! What a great testimony for friends, gratitude . . . ! I have just been working on a piece about being thankful, and I will publish it tomorrow. My birthday is just one week before Christmas and 2 weeks before New Years - 12/18. One of my few claims to fame is that I was born in the 50's . . . but only by 2 weeks. Ha!
- AUTHOR
@chspublish...Thank you for your nice comments and thanks so much for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon! WB
@sueroy333...Wow! Who would have thought a simple Christmas wish could rise so high my scoring and illicit so much response from my friends. I am honored and humbled by it all. You can bet that I will keep on scribbling them out Sue as long as there is someone willing to read it. Thanks for your nice words! WB
Wayne- Happy belated birthday and .. well, ditto what dr. bj said!
I hope you always continue writing. You are a funny, intelligent, and well-read person. I'm not the only one who feels this way, as you can see! Thank you for adding color to our lives!
Thanks for the joyful poem. It's the way to go.
Happy New Year!
- AUTHOR
@Julie McDaniel, Christopher Price, AKirchner, drbj: Thannks so much for the Christmas and birthday wishes and also for pumping me up to keep on writing! WB
Happy belated birthday and Merry Christmas to you, Wayne, and a very Happy New Year. Yes, December babies usually get cheated a bit but look at it this way, everyone is celebrating - not just your family and friends! :)
Happy birthday indeed, Wayne - and best of holiday cheer to you and yours from redneckville in Oregon!
Happy Birthday Wayne.
You keep writing 'em, we'll keep reading 'em.
Happy New Year!
CP
Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas. Hope all was well for you.
Happy birthday to you Wayne. I have 3 kids that were born in December and the youngest on the 23th. We left the hospital on Christmas morning, what a great gift that was for me. We all appreciate you Wayne and you certainly deserve to have the title of writer more than many people I know and thats including myself. Cheers to you and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
- AUTHOR
@ALL MY HUBPAGES FRIENDS....Thanks everyone for those kind words, great commens, and birthday greetings. I have been out of pocket traveling to see family for the holidays. This was a great birthday present for me...now I don't feel so alone! LOL! Merry Christmas to all and God Bless. WB
Happy Birthday!
And now, here's your solution: I had a cousin born on Dec. 24th, and because of her birthday getting lost in the holiday shuffle, her mother decided instead to have her birthday parties and all the hoopla in June, calling it her "half-birthday."
As we grow older, we tend to eschew birthdays, fudge our ages, deny the aging process, and it no longer matters if we have any specific birthday celebration.
For a child, though, birthdays are important, and they very much feel cheated to get a single gift that says, "Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas."
I thought my cousin's mom, (only my aunt by marriage), had a brilliant solution.
Happy Birthday Wayne. Mine is on the 5th, so I when celebrate I'll also celebrate your time on the hub. Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year.
Oh, that was funny! You - thanking God out of the one corner of your mouth for helping you to become a writer, while complaining out of the other corner because he did not help you so much with the guitar. Lololol! Are we not funny, Wayne, always complaining with a loaf of white bread under our arms. Lol!
My son was born on the 1st of January, and I always felt sorry for him. He never got the attention he wanted. Everybody was sleeping late (after staying awake all night, or most of the night), and many were suffering hangovers and/or indigestion. Cake and food and party-snacks were the very last they wanted to see, not to talk about eat. Poor boy. And still, being a man for many years, he accepts his birthday with hidden remorse as invisible in the shadow of the season’s festivities, though he does appreciate the best wishes and gifts from his family and friends.
Thanks for your kind wishes, Wayne. This was a great read, and a heartfelt poem. My wish to you and your beloveds, too, is only joy and peace and prosperity.
Happy Birthday, Wayne.
I, too, share a December birthday. What can I say except to tell you to take a few hours for yourself and appreciate that your among the living and then rejoin the holiday season.
Have a good Xmas and start your New Year properly with lots of laughs and lots of love.
Charlotte Ann
Happy birthday, Wayne. I can think of a lot worse to share a birthday with! I especially loved the line in your poem, "Give thanks for all you have and all that you can give". I think the happiest I am is in the latter.
I share your sentiments regarding friends at the hub. When I began here, I had no idea it would be one of the best parts of my life. I learn something new everyday and am especially grateful for the loving, kind, caring support extended to me and everyone here. So, enjoy your birthday, Wayne. Merry Christmas
Happy Birthday Wayne and a very Merry Christmas to you and all those you hold near and dear. My life is richer for having "met" you and I thank you.
Happy Birthday Wayne - my ex was born on Christmas day so I know some of your frustrations. I hope you do tell the stories you wanted to tell when you joined, I think they would be a great read. You are a very talented wordsmith... I am looking forward to your story.
Take care and again Happy Birthday.
Happy birthday, Wayne.
Happy Happy Birthday my cowboy friend and a very Merry Merry Blessed Christmas to you and yours. Great story as usual told by a man with creative talent. It's been my honor getting to know you this year Wayne Brown and I look forward to reading much more of you in the future.
You have being given a gift that has now come forth in your life to share with your fellow man. Keep up the great writing your friends at the Hubs will be here to support you always. Peace
Happy birthday as well as a Merry Christmas
Happy birthday my friend Wayne. This is a special story and a beautiful poem. Well written. Yes God has given you this talent to write poems and spread cheer. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
Happy Birthday Wayne! This was a sweet Christmas poem! Merry Christmas! :)
Merry Christmas AND a Happy Birthday to ya Wayne.
Happy birthday Wayne!
My wife's b-day is the 16th, and the one thing she hates is to get a birthday present wrapped in Christmas wrapping.
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