Always on my mind Christmas

by BRIAN LOCKHART

The Christmas season is here.

It's a time of lights, gifts, seeing those relatives you haven't seen since last Christmas, and maybe most important of all, a time for making memories that will last you a life time.

Most of us have a least one memory of a special Christmas that stands out more than any other.

Maybe that really special Christmas hasn't happened for you yet – this might be the one.

My best Christmas memories come from events that happened around or leading up to the holidays, not necessarily Christmas day itself.

I do remember sitting, rather terrified, on Santa Claus' knee, probably in a mall somewhere when I was about five years old, and him asking what I wanted for Christmas.

I nervously said I wanted a G.I. Joe action doll. Yes, miraculously on Christmas morning, there was G.I. Joe, in his green fatigues and army issued cap.

I recall one Christmas when a group of college friends all went to downtown Toronto for a Christmas lunch together before we parted for the holidays.

When we came out of that restaurant it was just cold enough to snow, and it was. They were huge snowflakes, the kind your rarely see, and there was no wind, it was very calm and still.

Those huge flakes fell straight down from the sky turning Yonge Street into a giant, but very calm snow globe.

We all stood on a street corner to say out goodbyes as each of us were off to our hometowns at various places around the province. The guys shaking hands, the girls hugging everyone.

I don't know why, but the memory of those giant flakes and that group of friends has always stuck with me as a special memory.

There is an old saying, “You can't go home again.”

I guess it means there are times in your life that are special, but you will never recapture that magic in the same way.

It may be a summer at a lakeside cottage, or just a period of time you spent with special friends and had some great experiences. For me, a couple of seasons at summer camp fit that bill.

You may have a great memory of that time, but if you tried to recapture that same feeling in time and space, you just won't be able to recreate the past quite the same way.

Some Christmases are like that.

A few years ago, I spent Christmas Eve in Niagara Falls. After dinner I decided to take a cruise through town just to see what was going on.

Even on Christmas Eve, that city is busy around the casino area.

It was around 9:30 p.m., when I stopped at a red light next to a local pizza place.

I was surprised to see that not only was it open, there were patrons inside ordering pizza.

One guy was sitting alone in the corner of the restaurant. Two other guys were ordering at the counter.

I guess not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I thought how sad it was, that on Christmas Eve, this one guy was sitting alone eating a slice of pizza. Was there no one who reached out to him over the holidays?

Country singer Willie Nelson has released a lot of well-known songs over the years.

One song called “Always on My Mind” – it was actually written by someone else – is about a musician who is on the road a lot. He laments the fact that he is losing his wife because he is away so much, but he tells her she is “always on my mind.”

Sometimes just thinking about someone isn't enough.

Maybe this Christmas you can make someone's life a little brighter just by making a phone call.

While someone may have been on your mind, if you don't let them know, just thinking about them really doesn't matter – at least to them.

Even better, make the effort to visit them. You might be surprised at how many people will be spending Christmas alone because no one has reached out to them.

I hope you enjoy your holidays and look forward to a happy and prosperous new year.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!