Friday, December 18, 2015

Tis the Season: Cozy Christmas Warmth



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.

So it’s hard to imagine that Christmas is only a week away.


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...

And don’t forget the sunscreen....





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5 comments:

  1. 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

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    1. Strange is good! Looking at mid 60s for Christmas. I might need to bring out the deck furniture....

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  2. christmas on the patio sounds outstanding! and we can light up the firepit if need be. who knew??

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    Replies
    1. Sounds 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....

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    2. any time after 2 is good..... we had the firepit on last weekend... it was like summah

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