yo Yo YO .... Big Daddy is in Da House and giving a shout out and a Merry Christmas to all my peeps .....

SC, I laughed when I saw your comment, not only because Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas was listed and is one of my favorites but because of the reason - the verse "if the fates allow" is the exact reason I tell people who ask.

I have known that song all while growing up - there was always Christmas music in my house as a kid, and although I was familiar with that song, I never really paid much attention to it, nor to the words. Kind of a simple song, didn't razz me much. Anyway over 10 years ago, I started teaching myself the piano, took some lessons as a kid never followed up so started teaching myself. Anyway the one song I was learning was this song and in doing so I became a bit more aware of the lyrics and this one in particular hit home. It was only about a week before that my niece than 11 years old was admitted to the hospital with leukemia, and to be honest things did not look good and it was probably just about this time, a few weeks before Christmas. When I was reading the verse, through the years we all will be together, if the fates allowed - it really hit home, and ever since than has remained one of my favorites. And fyi, a happy ending to the story is my niece is doing fine today - she actually died twice in the hospital but they got her back, more heart issues due to the chemo and medicines so she still takes medicines today for her heart but other than that she is A OK.

If anyone ever needs to have perspective put in their lives - visit a children's hosptial cancer floor. It is something you do not, nor can forget.