Christmas Truth: Whether we admit it or not, the birth of Christ affects us all. The juxtaposition of the harshness of life positioned next to a baby in a manger makes us wonder which is more real. The Christ-child at Christmas makes us long for something different. That longing in our souls is God’s reminder that whatContinue reading “The birth of Christ affects us all”
Category Archives: Christmas
Don’t expect much this Christmas!
Although I was a little disturbed by the dancing mice, I pushed through because Christmas was coming.
Scary Dreams for Grown Ups: Where is that Coconut?
The search for the Nativity . . . The search for the Christ-child, begins when we are willing to admit that we need help.
Fair Maiden quietly spit up her Cheerios during the choir’s special song.
One of our first Christmases as parents was spent in Florida with my in-laws. We were to enjoy a Florida tradition on Sanibel Island: A simple, quiet Christmas Eve service on the beach. However, as young parents, to guarantee “simple and quiet” required a LOT of preparation. I’m big into preparation. In fact, I’m oftenContinue reading “Fair Maiden quietly spit up her Cheerios during the choir’s special song.”
My brother would make irreverent motions and farting sounds during the best Christmas songs.
Back in THE DAY, kids of all ages and abilities were forced to be part of the church Christmas pageant. Even if the kid could neither sing nor act, or was in the habit of wetting him or herself in public, he or she was still part of the pageant. And, of course, being partContinue reading “My brother would make irreverent motions and farting sounds during the best Christmas songs.”
Dirty Santas and awkward gifts.
If played correctly, the Dirty Santa gift exchange is a hoot-and-half. The idea is that you bring prank gifts to your party and trade back and forth until you end up whacking everyone in the room and leaving with the coolest prank gift that you can then bring to another Dirty Santa party. A coupleContinue reading “Dirty Santas and awkward gifts.”
Sammy was whacking whoever got in his way and shouting “figgy pudding” loud and clear for all to hear.
The other day I observed a little five-year-old boy angrily strutting around the room with chest thrust out and fists clenched. While others were quietly playing Sammy (not his real name) was throwing toys, whacking who ever got in his way, and shouting “figgy pudding” (not his actual words) loud and clear for all toContinue reading “Sammy was whacking whoever got in his way and shouting “figgy pudding” loud and clear for all to hear.”
There’s nothing like having Baby Jesus jabbed up your nose to put you in the Christmas spirit.
When my brothers and I were kids there were two things we could always count on for Christmas: cologne and soap-on-a-rope from the Avon Lady (real name). The cool thing about cologne at age seven was the authentic artistic decanter it came in. My older brothers typically got cologne in guitar or car-shaped decanters, whileContinue reading “There’s nothing like having Baby Jesus jabbed up your nose to put you in the Christmas spirit.”
Hey kid, Santa needs his coffee break! ~or~ The Care Bears smell like cigarettes.
For a short time in college, I had a job as a mall security cop. This was a long time before mall cops rode Segways, so my job required a lot of walking in and out of corridors and was, essentially, pretty dull. I was a small guy and security cop uniforms only came inContinue reading “Hey kid, Santa needs his coffee break! ~or~ The Care Bears smell like cigarettes.”
Accounting for kids at Christmas time.
I met this random lady out walking yesterday and we had a brief conversation. “What do you do for work?” “I work at T–s ‘R Us [store name edited for anonymity]” she said. “Well thanks for what you do for kids,” I responded. “I do accounting there. But when I’m all done each day IContinue reading “Accounting for kids at Christmas time.”
Two of them were knocked down on top of me, wedging me deep into the snow. King of the Mountain.
School cancellations for snow days seldom happened in northeast South Dakota in the 1960s. It wasn’t a full day, but actually more like an hour early dismissal. My three older brothers and I hiked the one-mile trek home in hip-deep snow. Us Roso boys were all about danger and peril so at a time whenContinue reading “Two of them were knocked down on top of me, wedging me deep into the snow. King of the Mountain.”
Making room. Why Grandma’s visits were never a pain.
Grandma would come and visit every couple of years or so when I was a kid. . . . One day we all packed in the car and drove to the small regional airport and watched Grandma climb out of the plane onto the tarmac. There she was in with red hair sticking out ofContinue reading “Making room. Why Grandma’s visits were never a pain.”
Calvin Roso | Stories 