Christmas
The grass in Ohio is green on this Christmas day. Some small flurries failed to make the ground white.

Most of the Christmas days' I remember from my youth were green. It wasn't until I turned 9 that I started keeping track. If I remember correctly, this area hasn't had a white Christmas since 2004.

As memories go, Christmas is that interesting time of year when all the holidays in your life seem to fade into one grand season. We had parties in elementary school and occasionally learned about other cultures. We sang Christmas carols and ate ginger bread.

I used to get anxious on Christmas eve, waiting to unwrap a game system, a talking football device or a Browns' jersey.

Now that I'm older, I still get excited for Christmas. It means three days off and a chance to enjoy family, food and the occasional bowl game.

I realize none of this strikes a religious or spiritual chord, but trust me, that's by design. Sometimes I wonder what God thinks of our holiday. Maybe he's happy it brings us together. Maybe he's distressed by the commercialism which has taken the day over.

Or maybe, he wishes we spent a little more time helping those less fortunate.

It's true, I don't do enough. I have never done enough. I'll be out buying gifts for my family, and I'll drop a dollar in the Salvation Army box. I doubt it makes too much of a difference, and I know I should do more. But one season passes into another, and guilt finds its way into my mind. We can make New Year's resolutions and pledge to be better than we are.

But I'm left wondering, as the morning approaches, if I can ever really be the best person I can. If soldiers are risking their lives for me, the least I can do is give a little more back to others.

And I wonder if I'll be writing the same post a year from now, wondering the same thing.