Let it be Christmas everywhere
Alan Jackson
In the hearts of all people both near and afar
Christmas everywhere
Feel the love of the season wherever you are
On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe
Big city streets where a thousand lights glow
Not a ton to say about song eleven on the mix. No C.S. Lewis Wadrobe gateway to memory lane. Like young thisdad would tinker with Legos years ago, ThisDad has been tinkering with this Christmas playlist for years. The next selection is like blending the “space guys” with the “castle guys”.
Let It Be Christmas by Alan Jackson
This song was a country discovery a few years back. While number 11 here on the list, the seeding for this tune is at best the 14-14 SWAC tourney winner busting a bracket. Have more to say in the next entry, but not all of these are windows to the soul.
Solid tune. Merry Christmas. Moving on
Silent Night (Manchester Orchestra Version)
Song twelve might be in the top three answers on Family Feud for the most well-known Christmas tune. With a history dating back to 1818 there are any number of versions of this classic to choose from. Some version of this song has certainly been in the background of all 47 of my Christmases thus far. This particular version is an infant on this list having been put to digital vinyl in 2021.
There is a peaceful, reflective, punctuation quality to this song I just love on Christmas. I am far from the most religious person but this song resonates with me and always has.
The slower, methodical pacing. The added yearning and melancholy of this version place me squarely on the emotional fulcrum between the purest exhaustion and the purest satisfaction. The two true poles of operating real life over the holidays.
Standing next to a window on the coldest, snowiest night of the year, you can feel the cold pushing at you. The deepest, oldest, part of your brain skips the self-dialogue and registers a thought without words. Your home is shelter. You are not warm.
You are alive.
When the kids are asleep,
When “It’s A Wonderful Life” ends the TV clicks off.
Staring at the tree, the white lights like living room stars
When all the accouterments of Christmas fade.
Sitting there in silence.
I feel alive.
I hope you do too.
Thank you for reading. See you tomorrow
Main Cover Photo by Aditya Vyas on Unsplash
This Dad's Life STL 
Sean. This absolutely amazing! I started listening to each one this last week.. you have always been a wonderful man, but as a husband and dad you have taken it up a notch. Your family is blessed and so are you … may your daughters remember and tell everyone what a fabulous dad is!!!
Pat Schwartze
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Nothing better than sitting in an absolutely quiet home with just Christmas tree lights on. Thoughts of the holiday, missing loved ones, and what’s next will course through my usually tired brain.
Keep up the writing.
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