5 Rules

Before we dive into this week's Christmas opener, I want to thank the fans for the comments and emails. With your support and a little luck, we may have our "We've All Been There, Right?" app before the new year.

I've received quite a bit of feedback about the previous posts. One of the recurring themes has been to lighten it up a bit. This being a family blog, I'll leave out the explicit comments and share one example:

Robby - chill out a little man! Your posts are nice and all, but too serious for my taste. I liked the little baseball boy and his story and the motivational "sunset" stuff, but how about making it a little more light-hearted?

-Thomas Jackson (Centerville, Georgia)

 

I couldn't agree more. 

So in honor of the opening of the Christmas season, I present the Top 5 rules to remember entering the holidays. These will help ensure that this December goes smoothly. Let's remember that we all can improve in some areas. So if you want to grab a notebook at this time, feel free. 

Here they are:

1. No matter what anyone says, you can start listening to Christmas music whenever you want. When it comes down to it, there are really 3 kinds of people. The first is the “No Time Is Too Early For Christmas Music” people. As far as they’re concerned, if the month ends in R, Bing Crosby is on the playlist.

The second type is the “I Will NEVER, EVER Listen to Christmas Music Before Thanksgiving” people. In my experience, these are the die-hards. You know what I’m talking about. Make one comment about rumors of Justin Beiber’s holiday album in early November, and wait for their reaction. It will probably be pretty good.

The final group is the “I’ll Play the Christmas Music When the Lights and Trees in the Neighborhood Go Up” kind of people. These are the normal people, in my humble opinion. They’re the healthy medium between the two extremes above. But I guess there’s no right or wrong here. You can listen to the holiday tunes whenever you want.

2. The “Santa” in “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” is really the narrator/singer’s father. It’s amazing how many people take this song so much more scandalously than they should. You know who you are.

3. No matter what she says, the gift does matter.

4. So does the wrapping.

5. Finally, as the story of our friend Rudolf comes on the radio this year, let’s be a little more cognizant of the other members of the Delivery Crew. I argue that they work just as hard as Rudolf and I have the feeling history has exaggerated the amount of teasing that went on. Didn't we learn our lesson about stereotyping after Civil Rights, “How to Train Your Dragon”, and Michael Vick? Did ALL of the other reindeer laugh and call Rudolf derogatory names? It’s possible, but not likely. 

How quick we are to profile. But we’ve all been there, right?