I'm not going to say, "Bah, humbug!" I'm just saying that we are not in the mood this year. Are we bad people?
I've said it before, right in this here blog, Christmas ain't what it used to be for us big kids.
Even my little Loretta, holiday decorator extraordinaire, is boycotting the home decor festivities this year. She has boxes and boxes of Christmas do-dads that normally adorn our abode just after Thanksgiving. Those porcelain Santas with eight tiny reindeer...the red and green pine cone-shaped candles...lighted wreathes...the miniature Bedford town complete with music and lights and snow...they will all remain in their cardboard crypts somewhere in the rafters of the garage. And that really cool fake tree with 1500 Italian twinkly lights we got at Costco a few years ago...still neatly sequestered in it's original box we've managed to maintain over the years...will wait for another time to display itself.
And yours truly. I will enjoy a season without the worry of near fatal incidents while stringing the outdoor lights. Climbing our rickety ladder or lying cantilevered over the raingutters a couple dozen feet about the driveway is something I will not miss. Enjoying the look on Loretta's face when we plug in the lights at night for the first time...yes, I will miss that. But, it's just not going to happen this year.
For one, I will be gone most of December. The last week of November through the middle of December, I will be in Toronto for work-related training. Upon returning from the Great White North, I will be fully involved with a new restaurant opening. Long days and nights, seven days a week for the most part. Loretta will be working longer hours as well. Being empty-nesters, there is no kid factor to be concerned with. Our four spoiled indoor dogs could give a rat's ass what time of year it is! There are no holiday visits planned. No one is planning to come visit us.
One thing we will do this year though is watch one of my favorite holiday movies. We will break out the DVD of It's A Wonderful Life. I'm reasonably sure we haven't seen it for a few years. It is the quintessential take-stock-of-the-good-things-in-your-life-and-stop-whining-about-the-bad-things movie. If I wasn't on this Earth, are there people who would miss me? I say, "Yes, dammit!" My creditors would miss me for sure. But there are others whose life I may have impacted positively who may shed a tear or two. I'm quit sure I have an angel on my shoulder.
Considering some of the places I've been and the situations I've been placed in over the years...there has to be a Clarence Oddbody hovering over me. And this Angel Second Class got his wings years ago. In fact, he is probably been promoted many times for watching over me. He's is most likely a Master Chief Angel by now! Might explain all the bells I've heard ringing in my head. And I just thought I needed to increase my medication.
Just because we are not hanging up all the Christmas stuff doesn't mean we don't know and appreciate the meaning of this season. We are two very lucky individuals.
A ring-a-ding-ding!
