...this was Seth's reply last night, when I texted him this picture of my bedroom T.V. He knows me well. I don't like cartoons. Or animated movies. Or anything animated. I never did, even as a kid. The characters' creepy, gigantic eyes...eeek! It's all dumb.
With two glorious exceptions: The Flintstones and A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I don't know why The Flintstones is different; it just is. I love the characters, despite their their alien eyes. Maybe it's because Fred is such a doofus and Wilma is such a smart, strong woman, uncommon in 60s T.V. Or maybe it's because she and Betty are such good moms, advocating for their babies at every turn, also uncommon in the 60s. You were lucky kids, Pebbles and BamBam. And of course, Dino was the coolest dinosaur/dog ever! Whatever it was, I watched Flintstones reruns religiously through middle school, often missing the bus because I was so engrossed in the town of Bedrock and those two families. Sorry, Mom and Dad, for all those mornings you had to drive me to school.
Then there's A Charlie Brown Christmas, all 30 minutes of it! What can I even say about the absolute best Christmas movie ever? My memories are many. I watched it every year growing up, sitting on the floor in front of the T.V., eyes filled tears, as Linus takes center stage in that circle of spotlight in the school auditorium, and drops his security blanket to tell the story of Jesus's birth, straight from the pathos-filled Book of Luke. Years later in college, I played Lucy, performing the show in German at the foreign language club's Christmas party: "Ein Hund hat mich gekΓΌsst!" And several years after that, I directed the play (in English, this time) at the high school where I taught in Oregon. Of course the best memories are sharing the movie with my own kids, especially Seth. He came seven years after his next older brother, so the two of us had lots of time together when the older four were off doing their own things and not quite so interested in A Charle Brown Christmas anymore. Seth and I watched it together every year, right up till 2018 when he left for his mission in Paraguay.
And now, it's 2025. It's been a rough November. I'm buried in essays, with anxiety triggers hitting from all sides, and nearing one full year of hassling with the corrupt company that manages our neighborhood's HOA. The best way to describe that last one: I feel like I'm starring in a horror movie that never ends. Alas, that is a different blog post for a different time, and I promise I'll write it, just not today.
Suffice it to say that last night, after falling into bed exhausted, when I turned on Apple T.V. and saw the ad for A Charlie Brown Christmas, well, a bit of light shone through my otherwise unpleasant disposition. I texted Seth right away because I knew he'd feel the same nostalgia. He did. Then I got a fresh Diet Coke and snuggled under my heated blanket to watch.
And yes, I definitely felt the welling of tears behind my eyes, then dripping down my cheeks, when Linus recited those iconic words: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).
"And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."
