Closing thoughts

by Darryl Wilkinson

There are a couple of Christmas traditions in the Wilkinson household that might strike you as a bit weird. First, we don’t use decorative paper to wrap most of our presents.
When you buy paper each month by the truckload, it seems stupid to go to some store to pay big bucks for the $hiny $tuff that mostly gets ripped up and thrown away. So, about every present exchanged between family members gets wrapped in fresh clean newsprint. Granted, the pile under our tree looks more like it comes from a meat locker rather than the North Pole, but newsprint does the trick.
Sometimes we’re creative. All that blank space wrapping around presents doesn’t always go to waste. When there’s time, we get the grandkids to take color markers and go crazy creating Christmas drawings on our presents (and if that happens, guess what? It’s a waste to rip open and throw away these “homemade” wrappers).
Secondly, we give a box of cereal to every member of our family. This started years ago when we had some cousins staying over and quickly realized that store bought breakfast cereal was a treat more appreciated than any other gift – not some knock off, but the real brand name stuff regardless of the price.
Now if you do it for one little one, you must do it for all (16 boxes this year with another to be added onto the total come next year, Lord willing) … despite the curious sideways looks from others standing at the checkout counter.
One recent Christmas we tried to end this cereal box tradition. After all, our kiddos are fully grown and buying whatever, whenever they choose so grandkids nowadays have various brand name cereals within daily grasp. We assumed this rather odd Christmas cereal tradition had run its course. But we were promptly reprimanded for assuming nobody really cared or would notice. They did … and still do. Evidently, it is appreciated even though hardly anyone said so.
This makes me think about our Christmas decorations downtown. Most of us just assume the strings of Christmas street lights will go up every Yuletide, with at least as many if not more than last year’s count.
Gallatin is fortunate to have such a tasteful tradition in displaying Christmas lights. Three ladies put forth much effort to assure the outstanding Christmas display on the courthouse lawn – Sally Black, Judy Elbert and Cyd Terry. Add the impressive wreath hung on the courthouse entry plus the decorations on street lamp poles mounted by city employees and … well, let’s just say our little town’s Christmas decorations are the envy of many.
So, before all the decorations go back to storage as we enter into the new year, let’s send out a big “Thank you!” to Sally, Judy and Cyd and all others who make this happen. It’s a tradition that we don’t take for granted. The hard work is thoroughly appreciated! Thank you for making Christmas Around the Square last for more than just one weekend in November. It’s just the best, right here at home.

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OK. Okokokokokokokokokok already! Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, and so I simply cannot close out this old year without a list of resolutions. Here goes:
1. Replace the guitar strings and play daily until calluses on my fingers build back up.
2. Walk the dog two miles each evening.
3. Lose 25 pounds by the first pitch of baseball season.
4. Read the Bible, cover to cover, at least one time through.
Yes, I am truly inspired … until I realize these are exactly the same I listed when we departed from 2015 and plowed into 2016.
Oh well, there’s always next year…