I've always loved Christmas. Ever since I was a child, I couldn't get enough of the lights, ornaments, Christmas Carols, Christmas cards in the mail as well as friends handing them out in school, and the good cheer that this time of year usually brings out in folks. Of course, gifts are fun, too, but that's not what Christmas is all about for me.
Seeing my Dad string up the Christmas lights outside was the highlight of the season. I would sit on the lawn some nights, and just look up at the lights, in awe. He used to smile, watching me some nights from the window, asking me when I was going to come in. Finally, he would ask me if I wanted to go for a ride and see all the lights around the neighborhood and on other streets in town. Of course, my answer was always yes! Those were the best times, just Dad and I, hot chocolate in a thermos, driving around town seeing all the different Christmas lights and displays. Sometimes, we would get out of the car and look at the displays up close outside of some churches and homes.
Then came the visits with Santa that was always something special- we went to a department store to visit Santa while having our picture taken with him. Afterwards, we would go out to dinner, do some shopping, and then go around (again) to different towns and see different homes all lit up. There was always a reason to go see Christmas lights, in my eyes!
Of course, the decorations back then were nothing even close to what we have today! I can just imagine how the little ones of today must feel, seeing a bunch of Santa's and sleighs on the lawns, Reindeers, globes with snowman, along with the lights. I don't think my poor father would have gotten me back in the car, if I had spotted a globe with a snowman out front on someone's lawn. I am buying one hopefully this year, and I am sure, knowing me, I'll sit out there one night or two and admire- surely, my Dad will be smiling from heaven, watching his 42 year old daughter still in love with the lights and sights of Christmas!
The one thing I do miss during the Christmas season, is having a real tree. Unfortunately, I found out years later that the reason why I was so sick towards the end of the Christmas season had to do with the fact that I am allergic to pine trees and the pollen on it. My mother-in-law, bless her heart, told me to try washing the tree before bringing it indoors to decorate. I tried that, but unfortunately, my resistance to pine trees is very low. It saddens me, as I love pine trees, and there's nothing like the scent and beauty of a real tree in your living room. We have two beautiful fake trees, but there just not the same, know what I mean?
Right now, all of my children are past that "awe" stage as far as Santa goes, I don't think my youngest believes in Santa anymore. :( To be honest, I miss those years very much. My youngest loves the lights as much as I do- she reminds me so much of myself as a little girl, her excitement with the lights. She, too, sits on the front lawn of our house, and looks at the lights when we first put them up. She's so funny, every night, she makes sure the lights are on for when Daddy comes home from work!
Back when all of our kids were small, we would take some hot chocolate along with a snack, and go out several times in the season to see all the different lights and decorations, and of course, they would visit Santa as well. The place we went to see Santa had a Reindeer carousal and a couple of other rides that the kids loved to go on- it was all outdoors. They no longer have this place, unfortunately- the last time they opened up was five years ago. :( My children, along with my husband and I, were bummed to hear that they were no longer doing the outdoor Christmas scene with Santa and rides, as there was a lot of memories there from past Christmas'. I can still see my oldest two kids, balling their eyes out, the first time they ever met Santa. My youngest loved him right away, and was never afraid of him like her older siblings. We have a lot of laughs about that.
We are putting up our lights on the outside next weekend. Hopefully, someone's darling little one will enjoy them as much as my children have enjoyed other folks (and ours, of course!), as well as this big old kid at the age of 42. :) I know my youngest daughter and I will sit outside on Saturday night, admiring the lights together, and I will think of my Dad and how he loved the lights and decorations as much as my daughter and I do. I just know, he will be smiling up in heaven, wondering if the two of us will ever come in from the cold. He must be proud to have one of his grandchildren share the love of Christmas that he once had when he was here with us. Merry Christmas, Daddy- I love and miss you!
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, filled with great cheer and lots of merriment!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Guns N Roses Concert- Worcester, November 8th
My husband and I pondered together, just what did we want to do for our sixteenth anniversary celebration in October? As hubby and I went back and forth, thinking of the obvious outings we could go to, everything that we both suggested seemed so boring.
Dinner? Yeah, sure, why not? Movie? Nah. Bowling? No thanks, not this year. Hockey game? No, not fair to hubby, as he is a casual fan of hockey, and besides, I hate the Patriots and would never attend a football game with him, even if my life depended on it. Although, I have gone to baseball games with him and the kids, I don't mind that sport. Still, baseball season was done in Boston, so we wracked our brains, itching for something different to do this year for our anniversary.
Then, it hit me, as I was reading a message board I belong to for one of my favorite bands- how about we get tickets to see Guns N Roses? Hubby said "sure, why not? We haven't been to concert in years!"
Well, that sounded great, until my kids got wind of the idea. You see, they all love Guns N Roses, too! My son, who was going to turn 13 on November 9th, said that he would like to go, and celebrate his birthday listening to Axl bang out tunes. Both of my daughters nodded in agreement- my oldest, who just turned 15 on Nov 28th, and my youngest, who is 10 and 1/2, also said they wanted to go. So, hubby and I, who were to celebrate our anniversary late this year, by a couple of weeks, got tickets for the whole family to see Axl and his new band in their glory.
Folks thought we were nuts, bringing the kids. We heard several excuses as to why they shouldn't go, but honestly, we as a family enjoy this band, and I figured where our seats were, we wouldn't see much going on up front. I had to assure several friends that we were not getting floor seats, because of past experiences at Axl's concerts. Anyhow, we all went and had a blast!
At 11:45, Robin started the "Welcome to the Jungle" riff, the crowd jumped to its feet, screaming and clapping. We all got chills, waiting for the long intro to "Jungle" to be done, as we all wanted to see the King of GNR in person! When he finally came out on stage, and started singing, I got goosebumps all over. I don't think there was a member in the audience that wasn't on their feet, singing, clapping, and just having a great old time while Axl "sssshhhhhnnnaaaaa nnnnaaaaaa naaaaaaaaaa naaaaaaaaaaa knees knees" his way through "Jungle". "Sweet Child O Mine" had everybody singing again- I don't think, young or old, that there was one person in the audience that didn't know this song by heart, and sang loudly and proudly along with Axl.
"My Michelle" saw Sebastian "Baz" Bach making a guest appearance, joining Axl on the stage- they were awesome singing together. Sebastian Bach was the first opening act for the concert, along with Papa Roach. My kids, hubby and I weren't too crazy with Baz's opening act- we really couldn't understand a word he was singing, and when he talked to the audience, his vocabulary is very limited to mostly obscene words. Still, Baz was awesome on "My Michelle", and my kids and hubby really enjoyed Papa Roach. I had never heard of Papa Roach before, so it was new music to me. They were great, considering I had never heard of them before I got to the concert.
My son was thrilled, when at midnight, he realized he was officially 13. Smiling and singing away at this concert, he hasn't gotten over it yet, that he was there, watching Axl perform. When the show closed with "Paradise City", everyone was on their feet again (like they were most of the night, with exception to the slow songs and all the solos), singing and enjoying the last song of the evening. It went by so fast, Axl was hilarious, even joking with the audience about having a "moment of silence for Brittany and Kevin" just as he was about to sing "November Rain." When the audience started laughing, he laughed a little and said "now, that wasn't very nice!"
Great, great show, well worth seeing. Great way for us to celebrate our late anniversary, and I dare say, my son will never forget the beginning hours of his special 13th birthday!
Oh, and two great message boards I frequent for all the latest GNR news:
http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/board/index.php - Here Today, Gone To Hell! - all the latest updates are here from GNR management, courtesy of the Administrator of this board, a poster named Jarmo.
and
http://www.rosesofvelvet.com/forum/index.php - Roses Of Velvet Another great message board to discuss GNR.
Dinner? Yeah, sure, why not? Movie? Nah. Bowling? No thanks, not this year. Hockey game? No, not fair to hubby, as he is a casual fan of hockey, and besides, I hate the Patriots and would never attend a football game with him, even if my life depended on it. Although, I have gone to baseball games with him and the kids, I don't mind that sport. Still, baseball season was done in Boston, so we wracked our brains, itching for something different to do this year for our anniversary.
Then, it hit me, as I was reading a message board I belong to for one of my favorite bands- how about we get tickets to see Guns N Roses? Hubby said "sure, why not? We haven't been to concert in years!"
Well, that sounded great, until my kids got wind of the idea. You see, they all love Guns N Roses, too! My son, who was going to turn 13 on November 9th, said that he would like to go, and celebrate his birthday listening to Axl bang out tunes. Both of my daughters nodded in agreement- my oldest, who just turned 15 on Nov 28th, and my youngest, who is 10 and 1/2, also said they wanted to go. So, hubby and I, who were to celebrate our anniversary late this year, by a couple of weeks, got tickets for the whole family to see Axl and his new band in their glory.
Folks thought we were nuts, bringing the kids. We heard several excuses as to why they shouldn't go, but honestly, we as a family enjoy this band, and I figured where our seats were, we wouldn't see much going on up front. I had to assure several friends that we were not getting floor seats, because of past experiences at Axl's concerts. Anyhow, we all went and had a blast!
At 11:45, Robin started the "Welcome to the Jungle" riff, the crowd jumped to its feet, screaming and clapping. We all got chills, waiting for the long intro to "Jungle" to be done, as we all wanted to see the King of GNR in person! When he finally came out on stage, and started singing, I got goosebumps all over. I don't think there was a member in the audience that wasn't on their feet, singing, clapping, and just having a great old time while Axl "sssshhhhhnnnaaaaa nnnnaaaaaa naaaaaaaaaa naaaaaaaaaaa knees knees" his way through "Jungle". "Sweet Child O Mine" had everybody singing again- I don't think, young or old, that there was one person in the audience that didn't know this song by heart, and sang loudly and proudly along with Axl.
"My Michelle" saw Sebastian "Baz" Bach making a guest appearance, joining Axl on the stage- they were awesome singing together. Sebastian Bach was the first opening act for the concert, along with Papa Roach. My kids, hubby and I weren't too crazy with Baz's opening act- we really couldn't understand a word he was singing, and when he talked to the audience, his vocabulary is very limited to mostly obscene words. Still, Baz was awesome on "My Michelle", and my kids and hubby really enjoyed Papa Roach. I had never heard of Papa Roach before, so it was new music to me. They were great, considering I had never heard of them before I got to the concert.
My son was thrilled, when at midnight, he realized he was officially 13. Smiling and singing away at this concert, he hasn't gotten over it yet, that he was there, watching Axl perform. When the show closed with "Paradise City", everyone was on their feet again (like they were most of the night, with exception to the slow songs and all the solos), singing and enjoying the last song of the evening. It went by so fast, Axl was hilarious, even joking with the audience about having a "moment of silence for Brittany and Kevin" just as he was about to sing "November Rain." When the audience started laughing, he laughed a little and said "now, that wasn't very nice!"
Great, great show, well worth seeing. Great way for us to celebrate our late anniversary, and I dare say, my son will never forget the beginning hours of his special 13th birthday!
Oh, and two great message boards I frequent for all the latest GNR news:
http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/board/index.php - Here Today, Gone To Hell! - all the latest updates are here from GNR management, courtesy of the Administrator of this board, a poster named Jarmo.
and
http://www.rosesofvelvet.com/forum/index.php - Roses Of Velvet Another great message board to discuss GNR.
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