7 days 'til Christmas

The Polar Express was and is one of my most favorite Christmas books to read. The movie didn't thrill me, but the book has such a magical feel to it when I read it each time. My most favorite part is of course at the end:"On Christmas morning...Sarah found one last smal box behind the tree. It had my name on it. Inside was the silver bell! There was a note: "Found this on the seat of my sleigh. Fix that hole in your pocket." Signed, "Mr. C." I shook the bell. It made the most beautiful sound my sister and I had ever heard. But my mother said, "Oh, that's too bad." "Yes," said my father, "it's broken." When I'd shaken the bell, my parents had not heard a sound. At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found onee Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe."

This book always reminds me of the magic of Christmas, and that believing in the magic--like a child would--always brings out the best in the season.