The meaning of Christmas

This Christmas was special. Not because of gifts, but because of a special event.

Many people believe the meaning of Christmas is to give and receive gifts. This belief can cause a lot of stress. It causes people to be moody during a time of the year when we're supposed to give good tidings to all. We're supposed to promote peace and most importantly we should be enjoying our time with friends and loved ones.

This year, I got to spend time with my sister. She's been out of the country serving in the military. The last time I saw here was about 8 months ago. She recently sent me an e-mail saying she would be returning to the United States early and would be home for the holidays. Her wish was to see her family.

Her her way home, she arranged to have a layover at the Phoenix Airport. She would be here for about an hour. I know, it's not much time, but a little bit of time is better than nothing. We were worried that we would have even less time to see each other because of the security at airports theses days.

I explained my worries to my wife and she came up with a great idea. She told me to talk to the airport and airlines. So, I did. I explained the situation and they told us we could get a special military family pass to go beyond the security check point. To my sister's surprise, Kelly and I were there waiting for her at the gate when she got off of her plane.

We walked her to her next gate and talked for over an hour. We caught up, shared stories, and saw pictures of her adventures overseas. The time flew by, but it was the best gift ever. Time spent with people I loved. My sister and my wife.

People are getting to bent out of shape about people saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." It's not what people say, it's the meaning and spirit behind it. The spirit of enjoying time with your family and friends. Showing them how much you love them and putting a smile on their faces.

Just like the picture of me, Kelly and Melissa above!