I was writing the date recently, actually Friday the 25th, when I realized, “Wow! There are only two months until Christmas!” Yes I know we have a 25th every month and years ago I used to make a big thing out of it when I was on the radio, especially in January… “Only 11 months until Christmas!” I tried not to think about all the people cursing at their radio.
My first thought this week was, “Wow that went by fast!” Then I stopped and wondered, “Did it though?”
I know when I’m waiting for something, like a visit from my grandson or some other special event, it can seem like it’s taking forever. And when it comes you think, “Weren’t we just together?” It’s funny how the passage of time seems fast, then slow, then fast again. It’s all in your perspective I guess or maybe how busy you are or distracted by other life events.
I can’t wait for Christmas though. It’s my favorite holiday.
We do a “Question-of-the-Day” every day on the WSAR Breakfast Club and one of the questions this week was, “Where does Halloween rank among your favorite holidays? What’s your Top Three?” My three are:
- Christmas
- Thanksgiving
- Fourth of July
I’ve never been a big Halloween Guy. I like July 4th because I love summer and cookouts and fireworks. Thanksgiving because of the family getting together and the food! Christmas comes in number one for many reasons. The memories, the music, the decorations, the movies and, yes, giving and receiving gifts. Nobody told me how much fun Christmas is again when grandchildren come along. Seeing the holiday through their eyes brings back so many memories and it’s so much fun to watch them.
The other thing I’ve always loved about Christmas is that people, most people, seem to be nice to each other at Christmas time. I saw a joke one year on December 26th that said, “Well that’s enough peace and goodwill for another year.” Sad but true for some folks.
It just hit me the other day when I wrote the date, “October 25th.” Two months from now you might be sitting there on Christmas Day with all the presents unwrapped, the cookies baked, the cards sent and that’ll be it for another year. It’s not that I found that depressing, I was actually excited about all the things that will be coming up in the next 60 days.
I know it can seem overwhelming at times and you might not see how you can possibly get it all done. Maybe this year you can prioritize. Do the things you really want to do and don’t get stuck in that, “We’ve never done it that way before” mentality. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that times change, people change, and there’s no reason you can’t start a new tradition.
Something you might do is make a list. I’m a firm believer in list-making. Every day I make a list of the things I need to do that day and if I forget to put something on the list, I even add it after I’ve done it just so I have the joy of crossing it off.
You could actually make two lists. The first could be all the things you feel you have to do this holiday season like bake cookies or send cards. The other could be the things you WANT to do this Christmas season. I have a couple movies I want to see this year. Believe it or not, I have never seen “White Christmas” with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. I know. Random issue but I want to see it. Of course I have to watch Chevy Chase in “Christmas Vacation” and Will Ferrell in “Elf” but I want to see some of the classics too.
This year take a breath, prepare a little and hopefully you can enjoy the season. We have enough stress the rest of the year.
And now for this week’s earworm.
You’re welcome.
Catch up on previous Sunday Columns by clicking here.
Leave a Reply