And to all a good night!

At a certain point in life, the central question of Christmas transforms from “What awesome gifts am I going to get this year?” to “How in the heck am I going to pay for all of these gifts?” If you’re like me, you’re transitioning into the latter, and it’s yet another reminder of how much fun adulthood really is.
           
But it’s not all bad, even if we don’t get a white Christmas, and I don’t receive unwavering financial security and unshakeable maturity in my stocking this year. It’s a great time to wind down for a few days, count our blessings, and as the late John Lennon once sang, “hope it’s a good one without any fear.”
           
I’ll be back with a more thorough recap of 2017 next week, but it’s also a good time to take a look at the year that’s nearly behind us, examine its cultural relevance and ponder whether it was as horrible as 2016. Personally, I’ve got a lot to be thankful for: as much as they’d love to throw me out some days, Kellie and Wyllo have kept me going and given me a reason to get up in the morning. There’s nothing quite like family, and to truly experience it for the first time has been nothing short of magical.
           
Joining a new family brings changes with it, however, and time itself changes everything: as a youngster, I always associated Christmas with my grandmother’s house in Duluth, Minnesota, and her passing in 2011 meant no more holidays at the place overlooking Lake Superior. It may have been too cold to go outside, but at least we always had snow on Christmas.
           
This week’s Grundy Register is packed with enough Christmas related information to fill even Santa Claus’s belly: we’ve got stories, kids letters, ads, church service details and just about anything else you can imagine related to everyone’s favorite holiday of the year. And if you don’t like Christmas, you’re the Grinch, but on the bright side, the season is nearly over.
           
While I don’t count myself as a big snow guy, primarily for traveling reasons, I’m sure hoping that the man upstairs can give us some by Sunday. It just doesn’t feel like winter! And how am I supposed to build a snowman on dead grass with all of the leaves I’m still trying to blow out of my yard?
           
Now that we’re within a week of the big morning, the date I mark as “Oh shoot, I forgot to get half of the stuff I was supposed to get and had better hope they still have some deals” day is fast approaching. When will Amazon and Wal-Mart come up with a special name for that?
           
But, if you’re like me and still shopping, consider some of the local businesses right here in Grundy County. They’re owned and operated by people you know, you won’t have to shove anyone out of the way and the money you spend will actually have a tangible effect on the communities in which you live. It’s hard to shop small, especially around the holidays, but if we’re ever going to live up to all of our rhetoric about supporting small businesses and encouraging entrepreneurship, our actions have to match our words.
           
Last of all, spend some time with the people who are important to you, and cherish it. Whether you’re deeply religious or simply enjoy singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” there’s something to love about the holidays for everyone. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and thank you for reading The Grundy Register this year. If you’ve got love letters, hate mail or anything else you’d like to discuss, you know where to find me!