Each year as Christmas approaches, I find myself becoming quite nostalgic. Maybe it’s the combination of enjoying our two small children, but missing those special relatives that have already passed. And maybe a little comes from that child-like feeling I experience on Christmas Eve—because I just can’t sleep either! Whatever the reason, it’s fun to think back over the ages and stages of life—and how we experience Christmas.

At Christmas, things get busy. Because of the busyness, we may find ourselves a little distracted and sometimes even a little careless because we are out of our normal routines.

South Carolina ends up near the bottom of a lot of lists. And folks from up north and out west like to poke fun at our nice, southern state. Truth is, when times get tough, South Carolinians stand strong. Our state has had a rough year. Kinda makes us want to point out to the rest of the country what might make us different. The media struggles to find dirty laundry to point out when disaster strikes the Palmetto State—no rioting, looting, or other raucous behavior.