Something Special, Please?

Breakfast tacos used to be special to me. I would venture down to Texas from the beautiful mountains of Colorado to float in a river, drink coffee at Mozart's and eat breakfast tacos. It wasn't something that you found on every menu. Not in Boulder. Not in Denver. Not in Seattle. Not in Columbia. Not in London. Not in Chicago. Not in any place I had ever lived. So when I went to Austin to visit my brother, they were something special.

Now that I can add the Lone Star State to the long list of places I've lived, I find myself making breakfast tacos several mornings a week here in Atlanta, my latest home. I like to call them a little taste of Texas. They remind me of Taco Shack, Rudy's and my former roommate. I love them.

They are now routine. Breakfast tacos are normal. Nothing special.

Christmas, to me, is supposed to be special. It only comes once a year, on one day. We celebrate for several weeks with holidays, parties, concerts, gifts and worship experiences. We are reminded that the birth of one child changed the world forever. We drink hot chocolate with peppermint, eat too many M&Ms and we have breakfast in the formal dining room with a linen table cloth. It's special because it's different.

Yesterday, I drove past Christmas decorations. Go ahead. Check the date on this blog. Yes, it does say September 17. Not October. Not November. Not even close to December.

Retail stores of the United States of America: Please take them down. It's too early. If we watch them glimmer and glow for the next four months, by the time December 25 rolls around, they will no longer be special. No one will stop to notice. No one will want to take pictures. No one will be reminded that there is a reason for the season. Yes, I just said that. But it's true. Christmas decorations, as obnoxious and worldly as they can sometimes be, remind me of the holiday, and therefore, they become a hint at what is important. More important than shopping, lists and deadlines. Way more.

So please, take down the Christmas decorations. Keep them in the boxes. Close the lids. Pull the plug. They're stealing away the specialness of Christmas.

And that's just wrong.