What the Elf?
Oh, how I hate Christmas. I came to this realization a little over a week ago at Costco. Amy and I had stopped in to stock up on a few things--which, of course, wound up being quite a few more things by the time we were done. Early in our shopping odyssey, I became aware of the Christmas decoration section. I was curious what might be there, so we directed our cart down that aisle. There I beheld garish tinsel-fringed and sparkle-encrusted stars, trees, reindeer, Santas; lights that would turn a UFO green with envy; inflatable snowmen (because we really don't get the chance to make the real ones here in the Northwest); and on and on until I turned to Amy and said these words: "I hate Christmas." As I've observed before, I have not always had this attitude toward the holiday. As a child, I was quite taken with all the foofaraw: the brilliance and aroma of the tree, the letter to Santa, the smells coming from the kitchen, the sleeplessness of Christmas Ev...