There’s been an extra special warmth attached
to Christmas this year.
And I don’t mean in a raindrops on roses and
whiskers on kittens...bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens kind of way.
Or even a brown paper packages tied up with string...thing.
No, I mean an actual warmth...as in temps in
the 50s and 60s more days than not...way.
And I have to admit, it takes a bit away from all that cozy snow
flaky sweater bundling and snowman scarf wrapping...not to mention all the
hunkering under ice-skating penguin blankets while cradling hot chocolate and
toddies between our icy cold frostbitten palms.
Plus the jolly old fella up north is finding that heavy red
suit to be a little on the steamy side, this year.
A sunny, sultry week away.
Well, sultry for December, anyway.
Anything north of 50 counts as sultry in December according
to...well, according to me.
Which is probably why the season seems to be passing by so
quietly...and so quickly.
My brain is telling me to start readying the garden for
spring, while the calendar is saying, Ho
Ho Ho.
Or maybe that’s just my next door neighbor who tends to
shout Ho Ho Ho on most Friday and Saturday
evenings.
Sure, city sidewalks, busy sidewalks are certainly
dressed in holiday style.
Children laughing, people passing, wearing shorts and sunglasses, still
meeting smile after smile...
And above all the bustle you hear...“Hey
ain’t choo got no AC in dis place?”
Along with the sound of flips, flopping down the street.
So it’s hard to get into that Dicksonian Christmas Carol frame of mind to
fully savor the season.
But that’s okay...I can live with a tad
less holly jolly if it means keeping my winter coat buried in the back of the
closet for a few more weeks.
Or months, if I’m allowed to get
greedy.
All the snowmen around here are made of
plastic, anyway.
They’re not going anywhere.
Plus the lights still shimmer, the
ribbons still flow and the pine needles still drop off of my Christmas tree, albeit
at a much faster rate.
Besides, no matter what the weather, aren’t
we always in pursuit of the cozy warmth of Christmas, anyway?
That magic feeling we only feel now
through the haze of childhood past.
The real warmth of Christmas is
generated from within...especially after stopping off for some holiday cheer, right before
dinner.
So it really shouldn’t matter....
Because I’m pretty sure I just jinxed
it all, anyway, and we’ll be digging out from a couple of feet of the white
stuff by the middle of next week....
Silver bells, silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling,
Hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day...
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling,
Hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas day...
And don’t forget the sunscreen....
________________________________________________
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Enjoyed this one Brian - it does seem strange, living in a cold-weather state just like you do, to see holiday decorations dotting green lawns and leaves here are littered everywhere, some still on the trees. I hate the Winter, so for me it is a treat. And I, too, saw some teenagers last weekend - walking down the street in flip flops, tank tops and shorts - they were waving to the guy cutting his lawn ... all this behavior so that you can say "guess what I did on the ____ day of December?" Today we freeze our butts off - and everyone is miffed about it. It is just a normal December day - 32 degrees and wicked windchill. We are a spoiled lot it seems. Linda Schaub
ReplyDeleteStrange is good! Looking at mid 60s for Christmas. I might need to bring out the deck furniture....
Deletechristmas on the patio sounds outstanding! and we can light up the firepit if need be. who knew??
ReplyDeleteSounds good...what time should we be there? The closest thing I had to lighting up the firepit was when I accidentally set the back stairs on fire....
Deleteany time after 2 is good..... we had the firepit on last weekend... it was like summah
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