Another Christmas In New England

In a few hours I will be leaving for Massachusetts to spend another Christmas holiday with my son and daughter in law and their extended family. Since I am Jewish, I do not celebrate the holiday in a religious way but in a festive way nonetheless. The word Christmas rolls off my tongue easily. I equate Christmas with family, food, and the warm feeling you can only get from those you love. If you asked me 15 years ago if I would be spending Christmas anywhere, I would have said no. I have learned a lot since then. I have learned that I would not trade either of my daughter in laws for any other girl in the world. I learned that I respect other people's religions as I would like them to respect mine. I learned that our religious beliefs are either inherited from our families or the way we feel most comfortable accepting G-d. I learned that when all is said and done, we will wind up in the same place with the same G-d welcoming us. The only difference is the route we took to get there.