What A Wonderful Christmas!

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I had the most amazing, the most blessed, the most exciting and the most memorable Christmas season ever! Had quite a few first-timers this time!

To begin with, I had my first ever Carol singing competition early this month. It kept me really busy with the practise sessions and all. After all, I was incharge of my paltan from my parish! (pssst...so now you know the reason why I din't write all this while!) We had marathon non-stop fun filled singing sessions right upto the D-Day! It was all so much fun! Singing the wrong notes, then correcting them only to sing the wrong ones all over again! Deciding on the costume, the message, the standing arrangement and a million other things. And - at the end of it - we LOST! But it was alright; we aren't bitter losers, but cheerful players. It din't diffuse our over charged batteries one bit!

The second first timer was going for Carol rounds door to door till 2am in the early morn! Yes, you read it right, this shameless Christian has never gone around singing "Joy to the world" home to home ever before! *slap* But, better late than never, right? And to make up for my lack of enthusiasm for the last 24 years of my life, I did something extra - *surprise everyone* - I played the mighty drums! Now before you picture a bald-head-scarfed-sivamanied-me banging heavily on some round metal plates, lemme tell you; I din't go that overboard. It was a side drum (the ones to be hung around the neck) that I played. And I must say - I throughly enjoyed beating the shit out of someone (if I may say so!) and I did a pretty good job too (not my words, but the co-carolers said so...ask them if you doubt my skills!) It was all good until the side effects appeared. Well, I sprained my neck and couldn't turn right nor left, giving my forever wandering eyes a much needed break! Hmmm, to sum it up; it was really good! And I am glad I went caroling before I hit the grave!

You thougt my Christmas is over? Nah! There's one more first timer - and the best of all of it - the icing on the cake as you may call it! We, as a part of the youth club in my Church went to an orphanage nearby and spent the beautiful Christmas evening with the differently abled inmates. I don't wish to call them in the medical terms, because I din't see any of them as being a little loose in the head; but each one of them were unique and talented in their own sweet little way. One of them thought he was the asli AB and the Amitabh out there was just a nakli! He sang & danced to popular hindi tracks with so much of enthusiasm and frevor that it put my 24year old self to shame! And if you think he was some little Johnny, lemme tell you he must have been atleast some 50years of age! Look at me! *slap* Then met another precious creation of God - this masterpiece could tell the time correctly, be it any time of the day! And mind you, this man may never have seen a watch his entire life (he is blind) They all had their problems and worries, but it din't seem so. All of them were so full of life and energy! It really put me to shame. The joy on their faces as we sang Carols was priceless! It was indeed my bestest Christmas ever!

Probing inwards I realised that at times (most of the time) we cuss and curse and fret and crib about that one little thing that God hasn't given us yet. And we forget all the blessings He's already packed us with. The visit to the orphanage gave me a new insight to life, it made me probe deeper, made me look more inside and less outside, it taught me that real happiness is in making others happy and real joy is in giving and not receiving, it made me value my life and my health and my loved ones a 'lil more. It made me love me a 'lil deeper. It made me more a human. It made me, Me.

It made me realise -
There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of dreaded fear,
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears.
And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom.
It gave the meaning to the lines -
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you!
And it made me ask -
Do they know it's Christmas time at all??