Wherever you are and whatever temperature you are experiencing, Christmas is here! It is quite simply my favorite time of the year. And it has always been so!

Recently, I saw a list of questions designed to make me examine my holiday traditions and I was not surprised to note that I am entirely happy with the ones my family's got. They all came from my Mom and Dad, I suppose. And for people who have been gone from this earth more than twenty-five years now, their presence is certainly still felt during Christmas.

We have a live tree every year. My parents liked the smell. So do I.

We play the traditional carols in our house. Bing Crosby’s "White Christmas", "Winter Wonderland" with Johnny Mathis, and "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire" was what Mom and Dad listened to and it rubbed off on me, I guess. I even perk up when I hear Burl Ives version of "Holly, Jolly Christmas!" Remember? It was the song the snowman sang on the original television version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Speaking of Rudolph. . The Temptations still have the best version of that song!

This year again, right after an early dinner on Christmas Eve, we load up in the car and drive around to look at decorations. Before bedtime, we read the Christmas story from Luke in the Bible and celebrate the baby Jesus' birthday—complete with a cake, the candles and song. Our boys love it. Just like their daddy did when he was their age. They write a note to Santa just like I did and take forever getting to sleep. . like I still do.

We stretch Christmas morning out as long as we can. All the presents are opened on Christmas morning. This, by the way, was a huge "discussion" nineteen years ago when Polly and I were just married because, for some reason, her family opened their presents on Christmas Eve. Which is entirely incorrect. That, I believe, is in the Bible, as well.

For breakfast, we always have cheese and eggs. Yuck. Forty-plus years of cheese and eggs and I still hate them. It is however, a tradition. I can barely get 'em down, but my father always said it was what Jesus ate on Christmas morning so I think I would feel odd not insisting that my boys eat the same thing. Of course, they don't like them either, but it makes me feel good knowing that this is merely another tradition Austin and Adam will pass on to their kids. Did my Dad like cheese and eggs? I wonder. .

Wonder. . that's a Christmas word to me.

Remember the song? "I Wonder As I Wander"? I suppose I have spent nearly half a lifetime of wondering and wandering and yet the wonder. . the awe. . of Christmas is still here. Last night I noticed the tiny, white lights of our tree reflected in my wife’s eyes as she smiled at me and it really felt like Christmas. Austin and Adam were both asleep on the couch between us. After two years out because of the hurricane, we are so happy to be back in our house. I often wonder how many people are still displaced. This is the only house Polly and I have ever owned. . the only one our boys have ever known. It was unsettling being away. . especially during Christmas. I wonder how unsettled Mary and Joseph felt on that cold first Christmas so long ago. .

One last tradition to share: Mom and Dad always insisted that I write letters not just to Santa Claus, but to people for whom I was grateful. I was to write a letter revealing something of myself to them, expressing my love for them and my hopes for their future. The purpose of this letter was to make certain that these friends knew how important they were to me, to my family, and to the world.

This year, my letter is to you. Thanks so much—to all of you—for your love, support, courage, and example. Merry Christmas!

Your friend,

Andy