Happy Holidays from Waldlaw!

It's that time of year again.... My family, being a mixture of Jewish and Christian, celebrates almost any holiday that comes our way. When our children were little, for one year we tried celebrating both Chanukah and Christmas with gifts, and one year convinced us that this wasn't a good plan. Our older son was born in mid-November; our younger son in January -- so for that year, there were birthday gifts in November, then 8 nights of Chanukah gifts, then Christmas gifts, then birthday gifts in January again.... By the end of January, we had convinced our children that they were entitled to presents every few weeks regardless, and February and March ended up being pretty bleak months of "where's my next present" mayhem. We learned from that experience.... So now, Chanukah is the festival of light that it started out as -- we light candles every night, eat latkes (potato pancakes), sing songs. The kids fight over whose turn it is to light the candles, and don't even remember that once there were presents. We gather with Jewish friends to share the warmth of good food and company, and each year our children make a donation to a charity of choice as a way of giving thanks for what we have that others don't. And then comes Christmas.... We, as many of you, are caught up in the whirlwind of out-of-town family arriving; last minute shopping; planning menus; wandering the neighborhood looking at lights. It is, truly, a magical time of year -- and if we can avoid the malls, it is a joyful holiday. I hope that all of you find a way to celebrate this holiday season that reminds you of all the blessings in your life, whatever they may be. From all of us at Waldlaw, we wish you a wonderful, restful holiday season and look forward to sharing a healthy, happy and productive 2008.