O Christmas Tree

So this is an extremely late post but I wanted to share some more on my NYC/DC trip. One of the reasons we ended up being gone for as long as we were was that we found out that if we stayed a couple of days longer than we were originally planning we would be able to see, not only the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade but also, the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center. Since we were already in New York we figured we might as well see and experience as much as we possibly could. So we extended our stay by two days and put the tree lighting on our itinerary. We ended up getting there a little earlier than planned but this afforded us a much better "spot" in the crowd. It was a lot of fun to stand around waiting and listening to the different people near us. Some had come a long ways and some were from Jersey and others were New Yorkers. We stood there waiting for 3 1/2 hours before anything actually got started and then there was two hours of performances before they actually lit the tree. The first hour was broadcast locally, while the second hour was televised nationally. Even though by the end our feet were killing us and our backs and legs were aching it was still worth every minute.
On a side note - my brother-in-law happened to be in New Jersey on a business trip and so he drove over and met up with us for the evening. It was fun spending a few "New York Minutes" with someone I usually only see in Washington.
As far as our Christmas tree here at home goes, it's already put away and that makes me a little sad. This Christmas season seemed to fly by so quickly and while I'm thankful for all the special moments and times shared with family I feel as though I missed out on so much. Each year it seems a little harder to fit it all in and then there's the guilt you feel when you miss out on something. I'm not one who normally makes New Year's resolutions but if I were to make one for this year I would have to say that I want to slow down and enjoy the 2008 holiday season. To make the time to spend with friends and family, the people I love most and to reflect more on the wondrous gift God gave us in that tiny baby boy, Jesus.