Holly Jolly – Same Old Song

I sing this same old song, every year, right about this time; Holly Jolly Christmas time.

And believe me, the neighbors aren’t all that pleased; especially since I never got around to unsticking that open bathroom window.

I can't seem to nail the chorus, at least in tune, or at least something that resembles tune.

But since the rest of the song is performed in the key of “unknown origins”, no one seems to notice.

In any case, none of that really matter since I’m speaking metaphorically, which I tend to do, at least until I finish my second cup of coffee. After that, I pretty much just speak nonsense.

So I better get on with it, since I’ve already finished my first cup.

No, the metaphorical song I’m talking about is how quickly the Holidays seem to sneak up on us every year...after year...after year.

No sooner do we toss the tree to the curb are we back out in the woods hunting down a new one.

No sooner have we tangled up the lights before boxing them away are we pulling them out and untangling them, again, along with a holly jolly holiday curse or two.

Some of us haven’t even opened that matching PJ and slipper set we got from Aunt Louise, last year.

Or was that the year before?

Or maybe the year before that?

The point is, Christmas is a great big point of demarcation, every year, and the older I get, it seems to come around, faster and faster.

Sure there’s lots of stuff that takes place in between, which I guess is called living, but most of that usually seems to just blur into a jumble without anything of note really leaving a lasting mark.

Unless you happen to vacation with your in-laws, in which case no amount of therapy can erase that particular mark.

But I digress.

Sorry, I’m one and half cups in already. 

The thing is, with every New Year we run off, our slice of the pie get a little bit smaller. What used to take a dozen or so bites to finish, gets gobbled up, now, in just a few.

Not that I feel old.

No, not at a mere 63.

I still have my Columbia House 8-track of the month club membership...so I’m fairly optimistic.

Fact is, as I’ve said before, I don’t think anyone ever really feels old.

That’s just the myth of youth.

My mom, who lived to nearly 90 never thought she was old,  right up to the end...just a bit inconvenienced.

And I have two Uncles in their early nineties who race each other to the senior center every morning so they can get to the frosted jelly donuts before the other one does.

So I don’t think it’s an age thing. I just find more and more, I never feel "ready" for Christmas when it arrives on my doorstep, wrapped in a bow.

I suppose a lot of it’s because we all want to make each new Christmas significant. Childhood memories paint a fantastical picture of sugarplums and mistletoe, which we hope to recreate; the magic, the mystery...the excitement generated from that very cool Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot set Santa brought in the mid-60s.

As a kid, we counted down the days until Christmas starting in July.

Or even March, if you happen to be excessively hyper-active, narcissistic and greedy–not mentioning any names.  How could we not be ready to jump all in once December came around...or possibly October...or September–again, no names.

Nowadays, we get so involved in all that other business of living we don’t even notice the magic seeping into the air once the fall frost descends.

And have you tried finding a decent sugarplum, these days...let alone mistletoe?

I don’t know.  I’m trying...just like every year.

And I’ll get there...sooner or later, I always get there.

Usually around February 7^th.

But, still, I’ve learned you have to take every new holiday, every New Year, every new day as it comes.

A brand new surprise, a brand new memory in waiting.

It’s true...the best is yet to come.

We just don’t know it yet.

But hopefully we will, when we do.

Not that it could ever be better than those Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.

But what if it is?  What if it’s waaaaaay better.

Come on Christmas...what’s taking so long?

Hurry up and get here....come on come on come on.....

Ohhhhhhhh....this is soooooo frustrating, all this waiting.....

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