Grand Avenue by Mike Thompson for December 11, 2024

To get away from you, kid.

Why limit it to Christmas?

As a proper introvert, I like to pretend I have a cave to hide in. It’s really nice in there.

Neither my wife or I are into the xmas (look it up), in part because her birthday is in January.

The Grinch is my hero, at least until his reform.

If there was a sequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, it’d How Cindy Loo Saved Christmas! The Grinch would grow old, and see how the Whos down in Whoville would forget the true meaning of Christmas over the course of a couple generations. Though he loves the holiday, the Grinch hates the thought of the Whos ruining Christmas. One year, he decides not to attend the Christmas Eve feast.

No one seems to care except a mother of two. She decides to travel up with her children and her husband to Mount Crumpet to visit the Grinch. The Grinch, who has given his home some much-needed renovations over the years, opens the door to find his old friend waiting for him. He lets the family in, and makes them feel right at home.

Cindy Loo asks him, “Mr. Grinch, why? Why are you up here all alone on Christmas Eve? Why?” The Grinch, without hesitation, tells her the truth about Christmas not being celebrated as it should be. Cindy agrees, but reassures him that all is not lost, for there are good Whos who still remember and live the true meaning of the holiday.

Then, she notices an old Max looking intently at a glowing star. The Grinch tells her that it’s the only Christmas decoration he leaves up all year. It’s a reminder of what happened the day his heart grew three sizes, and how the Light of Love and Family shone the way for him to trod the path of goodness. It’s the only Christmas decoration the Grinch put up, as he didn’t feel up to decorating his home for the season, nor did he want to make a Christmas dinner.

Cindy Loo looks thoughtfully at the Grinch, and invites him to stay in the guest bedroom of her family’s home. The Grinch doesn’t want to impose, but Max nudges him, as if to say, “Go on, pal. Take her up on it!” He accepts her offer, and in a roomy and cozy sled, the party heads down the mountain safely into Whoville. That night, the Grinch, for the first time in a while, rests happily in his bed, knowing that the Christmas Spirit is still around.

Taking care of those two is enough aerobics to keep a 20 year old exhausted.