Dear Journal~

Johnathon here.  A very thankful Johnathon, at that.  November, and I am still kickin'!  Barely so, but I'm still alive; for that I can thank the good Lord above!  :)

I had so much fun last night:  our family went to the annual Nashville Christmas Parade of Lights/Lighting of the Christmas Tree, and we celebrated until the cows came home.  I got to do my signing on stage while people sang; I also rang the bells.  (Now my arms and shoulders are killin' me; think I have Bell Ringer's elbow, shoulders, and arms.  *OW*  LOL)

In any event, the Parade of Lights was stunning:  all the floats were festooned with brightly colored Christmas lights; so were the cars, and even some of the band members; they had lights strung on their instruments!  LOL  Horses were even donning lights on their backs and reins.  Everyone was smiling, having as much fun as me and my family.

The parade's Grand Marshal was Vince Gill.  Everyone went nuts when he went by, especially the ladies.  LOL  I think he's a great singer:  his voice is one of the purest in country music!!

Another very popular fellow was, of course, Santa Claus, who arrived by sleigh and eight (not-so) tiny reindeer.  The children screamed their approval; I found it hard not to clap along, even though I now know Santa Claus is a myth; still, it is nice to let the little kids believe for a little while.  I know; I was a little kid once myself, and I believed in Santa.

Now I believe in a Higher Power:  the Lord Jesus Christ, who is probably the main Reason behind the Season, which, sadly, a lot of people have seemed to have forgotten, thanks to commericialism/materialism.

After the parade, we (meaning my family) headed to the Main Stage area; we had to get ready to perform.  The Donelson High School Choir got things kicked off with a medley of Christmas favorites; then Ronee' came on and did her thing, did her three songs.  She did great as always (jealous?  Perhaps; I always am.  LOL).  Even Santa got into the act:  he was dancing his (North Pole) legs off; I didn't know he could dance the Cajun two-step!  LOL

After Ronee', Trevor Cole, a local ten-year-old singer who's blind, came on, and did some gospel spirituals; he was fantastic!

Mom even came on and did a song; mom sings very well; it's a wonder she doesn't do more in the way of solo work.  Guess she's too busy raising us, her family, to be able to do so!  LOL

A guy named Randall C. Quigley was next; he did some jazzy Christmas numbers (think Dave Koz), and then a duet of two ladies danced some ballet.

They had some dance troupes come on after them; most were made up of kids (mostly girls, it seemed).  Some were no older than a year or two old; they looked so cute in their snowflake costumes!

Several more members of my family participated as well:  Gemini.  Deborah (who had the audience in tears with her powerful high soprano voice).  Barbara.  Arjun.  Vijay.  Opal.  Steffi.  Porter.  Camey and Tammi.  Michael.  Dad.  They all did a great job, too.  (Glad I live in the family I do:  we have some amazing musical talent in amongst us!  :) )

All the time these people sang/played their music/danced, I remained on stage and signed my hands off until I thought they were going to collapse or fall off!  LOL  No wonder I am so sore!!!!

The music was great, but it was only a sign of things to come.  Soon the mayor of Nashville took over the horn and announced that the tree lighting was only moments away.  They were waiting for Santa to come; he was going to do the honors.  Soon he was there; after greeting the audience, he then lit the tree.  Everyone cheered, but nothing like when the first fireworks were shot off. 

The fireworks lasted for a good twenty minutes.  They were spectacular; after the finale ended, all of our ears were left ringing.  (I had to turn my hearing aids off, but I still could hear 'em booming and banging, as they exploded overhead into the night sky.)

So that was our Christmas celebration last night.  The Christmas season is upon us in earnest; it actually started on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.  I enjoyed going to the mall, but people kept running into me or my chair; I was not amused!!  I was so glad when we got home!  (Good thing I only had a few things to get; our family does most of its shopping in August, September, and October.  We had to go to get some things that were on sale.  We do this every year; why, I don't know, but we do!  LOL)

Maybe mama ought to consider doing the shopping online??  It'd be a lot easier, and we'd avoid all the headaches associated with Christmas/holiday shopping!!  LOLOLOL

It was good having some members of our family come home for Thanksgiving.  (They just left not even an hour ago; I already miss them.)  My brother, Erick, is still here; he won't leave until tomorrow.  His girlfriend is really sweet; she's taken to me like a little brother.  (She has only sisters; she has three of them.  She's the oldest.)  It seems funny that he's in his twenties now; last time I saw him, he was my age.  Nearly seventeen.

Mama has a big mess to clean up:  my cousins (and the littler kids) really trashed the place.  Toys all over.  Cookie crumbs.  Candy wrappings.  It looks more like a nursery school than a house!  LOL

Mama ought to have that done in no time flat, once she recruits some helpers to help her!  LOL

Glad I don't have to do that!  *grins*  While the family cleans up, I can sit in the kitchen with my brother, and we can guzzle rootbeer, and have our burping contests (and see how long it takes before mama gets angry, like we did when we were younger)!  LOL

Ain't anything funnier than driving our mama crazy!  LOLOLOLOL

Well, I am going to put this to bed.  I am getting sleepy; think I will take a nap before we go to church later on.  I will write in here again; until next time, this is Johnathon signing off!  Take care, and God bless you always! 

~Love, your friend, Johnathon.  :)