christmas, does it really exist here?

i have come to find from living in southwest florida that christmas does not exist in this part of the world. it is all fake down here, no real christmas decorations, no merry singing, no overcast skies with blistering winds, and no snow. how the hell can a parent live with themselves while providing a child a "christmas" without the winter wonderland? being from ohio, having a white christmas may not have been a guarantee, but at least it was always a great possibility. i remember being young and running down to stairs to see what santa brought me only to be momentarily side tracked by the fresh powder, marked only by what i thought were reindeer tracks, that could be seen through the front door windows. not only that, i was in pajamas-meaning flannel pants and soon to be a sweatshirt because it was winter in the midwest. in florida, you are lucky to not be waking up in a pool of perspiration from the nights sleep.

another reason christmas does not exist here is that santa would have a heat stroke the moment he landed. his suit is much to heavy and his beard is much to full to withstand the heat that the south brings.

i have also noticed, or not noticed depending on your point of view, that the house decorations are at a minimum. it seems to be a past time in the north to spend at least one of the nights leading up to christmas driving around looking at the houses and the decorations that adorned them. one of my favorites was from a house in my neighborhood that had the grinch nativity scene. another great route was driving through indian hill seeing all the overly large houses decked out to the max with ride displays of color and decor. im going to try to be modest when i say this, but we know how to do christmas in the north. in fort myers, no body decorates their homes. and if they did, you would not be able to enjoy it because of all the gated communities. i am sure a guard would understand if you told him you only wanted in this neighborhood with multi-million dollar homes just to see the light displays.

i truly cannot wait to return home this weekend for a two week stint back in cincinnati. it may not be snowing at this point, but at least i will be able to wear a sweater and a winter coat without fear of over active axillary glands. i welcome this change after spending the past four months in severe dehydration from the florida sun. forget bringing on the sun, i say bring on the frostbite.