If this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, or at least bring a smile to your face, then I don’t know what will.

Lately, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn a lot more sign language. I actually took 1 course of sign language in high school. It came at a fortuitous time because I also happened to be confined to the bed during that semester. I had a major surgery and had to be on bed rest for six straight weeks. Literally, couldn’t get out of bed. For. six. weeks. From baths to food and everything in between – I had to rely on others to take care of me.

I was very fortunate to have some family members who came up from Tenneessee to take care of me. It just so happened that my cousin and her husband were both deaf. They also had a daughter – she was not deaf, though. To this day, my cousin and I are still very close because of those three weeks we spent together when I was 16 and she was 3. She taught me many basic signs, and helped me learn how to finger-spell very, VERY well.

Two of the students that I worked with at a summer camp years back were deaf. So, in order to be able to communicate more effectively than just fingerspelling, I wanted to take up American Sign Language (ASL). Over the past year and a half or so, I’m proud that I can have a reasonably efficient conversation with family members, coworkers, and friends who are deaf and, of course, with others who practice sign language as well.

So, with that background and context I wanted to share this video with you all. Hopefully you’ve been as in the Christmas spirit I have for the past few weeks, given it is the season to celebrate and all, if you observe. :) Even if you don’t though, I hope this video puts a smile on your face. I know it did for me!