Christmastime

I think I have found an advantage to being old. Now I have time to enjoy the music, the lights, and the spirit of Christmas. When you don’t have meals to prepare, a job to go to, or anyone to care for but yourself, you have all the time you need. When I was younger and teaching, December always seemed to be a mad dash through the days and nights. There were college finals to prepare and the results to correct and record, before Fall Quarter at Dixie was closed, usually about the 10th. Then the focus turned to home, and all the decorations to put up, inside and out, and special parties to arrange and attend. I always did my Christmas gifts in August & September, before the Fall Quarter began, so they were already done. I had a special December Party calendar on my desk at school, with all the parties on it, and I celebrated when there weren’t two scheduled for the same night!

It’s funny, but I still get that urge to get my Christmas gifts going in August! I had thought that I would make more of my gifts after I retired, but that hasn’t happened. It takes longer to do the little things, and the incentive isn’t as strong, either. If it isn’t done before 2 or 3 in the afternoon, it isn’t going to get done that day. It is so much easier to sit in the big chair and just let the day pour over you!

I have a large collection of Christmas music – both in the old cassettes and the new CDs. I gave away my LPs when we moved, but I had most of my favorites copied onto cassettes. Some of them are pretty old (from the 40s & 50s), but I still enjoy hearing them. But they are only about 15 – 20 minutes of music each, and the CDs play for an hour. The radio was a good source for Christmas music, but they also had commercials. Now I can hear commercial-free music from the TV, and I often play it for a background when I am reading from my collection of Christmas books. (Yes, I have time to read some of those books now!)

So take heart, you young folks, there will come a time when you can do all the things you want to do during the holidays. Well, there will be time for it, but you may not feel like doing it, if your health isn’t top notch. I think Brother Wirthlin had the right idea when he said that we should take what comes, and love it!

Merry Christmas to all.