Christmas is…..

• Ten million kids from Virginia Beach to Los Angeles so excited they can hardly stand it.

• Hearing the same songs you heard last year. But somehow they are new again.

• Food. Lots of it. Cookies, pies, cakes, eggnog, chocolate, nuts, wine, ham, cheese, punch…..

• Seeing little Kenny being that much taller, Aunt Thelma, being that much heavier, Uncle Harry, being that much grayer and Grandma Dudley being that much slower.

• The celebration of a person who literally changed the course of human history.

• Grandkids. Pulling on your shirt, crawling up your leg, poking your nose, taking ornaments off the tree, spilling milk, laughing at you making silly sounds. Oh yeah.

• An empty chair that was occupied by someone you loved last year.

• A tree in your house. An actual tree in your living room. What else could possibly make a woman permit that?

• Finding the one bulb that made all the rest go out.

• Someone opening a present and wrapping it back up and acting surprised Christmas morn (you know who you are!).

• Finding the perfect gift for someone you love and can barely wait to give it to them.

• Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen.

• Kissing her under the mistletoe.

• Almost here!!!!!!!!

REX ALPHIN of Walters is a farmer, businessman, author, county supervisor and contributing columnist for The Tidewater News. His email address is rexalphin@aol.com.