Christmas Thru the Eyes of a 4-year-old

As I have indicated before, Christmas is not really my favorite time of the year. I have a serious lack of enthusiasm for the holidays which has not been relieved by the radio stations that switched to all Christmas music before Thanksgiving, or the stores that put out all the Christmas decorations the day after Halloween. I used to be excited to see the lights going up on my neighbors' homes, but now I look forward to seeing them come down.
However, there is a serious bright spot in my otherwise ho-hum holiday season; my four-year old son. He has been a fan of Christmas since he was a little guy. He would yell "lights" at my oldest son, who controlled our outside lights with a remote control. He would squeal with glee when the lights came on at his command. This year, he is so much more mature and aware of the true "Christmas", thanks in large part to his wonderful Catholic preschool teachers. He is so excited by the whole concept. On Friday, "St. Nicholas" came to school and left candy in their shoes and attached little jingle bells to them. My son showed those little bells off to everyone. When the aforementioned radio station played a song with bells in the background, he made me turn it up so he could jingle along! He is learning all the standard kiddie Christmas songs and hearing them in his sweet little voice makes them seem all the more meaningful. He is the fresh spirit that my Christmas needed. This truly is a season of miracles, and he is mine.
In related news, oldest son will be home next weekend. I am wondering how he is feeling about that. Is he happy that he is coming home, or dreading it. He is a man of few words and I know he loves his sibs, but they can be a little overwhelming. I am looking forward to having my kiddies all together under one roof for a while. That's another bright spot! Who would have thought? There may be hope for Christmas after all!