Times Have Changed...For Us, Anyway

We went to a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony tonight in a nearby "village" and Santa was making a grand appearance. Everyone in this town had shown up to see the Big Guy and stand in line for pictures and requests. As Santa made his way to the center of attention on a fire truck, I had to laugh a bit. We, among all the others in this crowd, were reacting to Santa's arrival as if waiting for a rock star.

The fire truck pulled up and everyone who could rushed over to see Santa emerge from the vehicle. I could hear a guy on the stage asking for everyone to clear a path so Santa could come through. Then he appeared. Screams and yells for Santa went up. And so did the kids, up on the shoulders of all the parents. All of sudden, I had a flashback to the rock-n-roll concert years of my much younger days and the crowd reactions then. Of course the persons on top of shoulders then weren't 2-6 years old and weren't always completely dressed, either. But the cheers were the same.

You can barely see Santa on the stage in this pic. Yup, I remember this view of a few bands back in the day.


Anyway, it was a great time for my kids. Hunter was in awe of seeing Santa and Hadyn was excited, too, to see "TinTa". Man, times sure have changed for us. But I sure love these times much more!!

This is Hunter in front of the corral where "Donner" and "Blitzen" are hanging out.


We also got to meet "Mrs. Claus" and have a pic with her. Hadyn wasn't too sure about her, though. Maybe next year.