Christmas, Was't It Just The Other Day?

Time is running at top speed.

All those eons ago when I was little, it seemed forever and even longer before that man in the red suit would come and hand out presents. A lifetime, it seemed to be, but one filled with excitement, anticipation and tradition.

It isn't fair to merely blame the fastness of time on our chronological age because I have a feeling that it has more to do with all the activities, work and time thieves we cram into each year. There is nary a spare moment anywhere to contemplate the various markers of each year and before we know it, Christmas in on our doorstep.

Thirty or more years ago we did't have modern technology and all that it entails. At most, we received and answered about six letters per month. Answered by writing on letter paper and dropping the letter into a post box. Each letter contained a summary of life lived and one needed a bit of imagination too.

Especially that one carefully penned letter most of us wrote to Father Christmas, a letter which informed him how good we'd been throughout the year...oh yes, imagination indeed.

Most of us spend our days multi-tasking, if that is still applicable as we tend to juggle more than two chores at a time. Even the simple deed of conversation has been compromised by our beam me up Scotty appliance. Bad enough that it interrupts conversations but now with the Instagram & co's, it has to make snapshots too....Eish, what are we doing to ourselves?

Back to Christmas, which has finally arrived today. Millions of children everywhere have opened the last window of their advent calendar and that means one thing only. The next thing they open are the many presents under the Christmas tree.

Naturally, parents are prepared and snap away to share their offspring's bounty online, and sadly, making sure that even Christmas is an activity hindered by multi tasking...

Just for today and tomorrow, let's switch off our smartphones and just imbibe our children and family's joy first hand and with all senses being 100 percent focused on the present(s).

Biggi

Just in case Father Christmas is lost...