Editor's Note Feeling the Christmas spirit By Darcy L. Fargo

December 22, 2021

I hadn’t been feeling the Christmas spirit.

I was caught up in the busyness of life and feeling the general weariness a lot of us are feeling after such an extended period of these pandemic times.

Knowing I was feeling that way as we prepared for and entered the Advent season, I loaded my November schedule with fun and adventure for me and my family.

I previously mentioned a trip my son and I refer to as “football tour 2021.” In this one four-day weekend, Jake was able to meet my best friend from college and her husband (also a college friend), we visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we watched our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers get destroyed from fantastic seats with a super fun crowd, and we visited three professional football stadiums and pro shops in less than 24 hours (Cincinnati, Cleveland and Buffalo).

Driving home, we were just outside of Syracuse when I looked over and noticed a tear running down Jake’s face.
“Are you ok, buddy?” I asked.

“I don’t think you understand how big this weekend was in my life,” he responded. “This was awesome. All of it.”

I realize some of his emotional response was likely caused by the cumulative effects of fatigue and over-stimulation, but this line from a Christmas classic pretty much summed up how I felt:

“And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.”
He reminded me that it’s a season about gratitude and love.

This is the season when we are grateful in a special way that God loved us enough to send his Son, our Savior, to become man and dwell among us. It’s when we are grateful in a special way that our Savior continues to dwell among us and love us, and we continue to be called to closer relationship with him.

A season of gifts and giving, it’s also a good time to reflect on and be grateful for the gifts we’re given in our lives, the blessings God has bestowed on us, including and especially the people he places in our lives.

Jake’s gratitude and the season has had me reflecting on the gifts I’ve received. There are far too many to count. If I had to list them out in order of significance, it wouldn’t take long to get to, “the North Country Catholic.” The readers, supporters, columnists, photographers, reporters and sources I’ve encountered in the nearly four years I’ve been here have truly been a gift in my life.

We at the North Country Catholic wish you a merry Christmas. We pray it’s full of joy, love, gratitude, the peace of Christ and – I’ll add – the Christmas spirit.