The gift giving and gift receiving. The tree. The traditional and not-so traditional food. The smiles and courtesy of stranger toward stranger.
I even look forward to reading the beautiful cards and newsy newsletters outlining the achievements of the pseudo-perfect lives of acquaintances, family and friends.
However, between Halloween and Thanksgiving I'm pretty much a hum-bugger. I don't like to rush into Christmas by bypassing Thanksgiving. "To everything there is a season..."
Having said that, I also realize if I don't purchase Christmas stuff now, it will likely not be available after Thanksgiving, so when I saw a box of beautiful Christmas cards in HEB last week I snapped 'em up.
Those of you who know me, know I have good intentions; however, my follow-thru is sometimes less than desirable, and Christmas sneaks up on me. There have even been times the cards have been mailed the day after Christmas. And several years I just kept them at the ready until the following year.
However, I am determined to break that cycle in this 2020 Covid Year. Everyone needs an old fashioned card.
Having made that decision, I took the box of Christmas Cards to work. It is my plan to address 5-10 cards each day between now and Thanksgiving (either after my tour of duty or on my lunch half-hour), and actually get them in the mail the day after Thanksgiving.
That's the plan.
Tonight I actually got a fairly good start: I wrote short notes and addressed about ten Christmas cards. It took no time at all after my coworkers left for the day, and I wasn't distracted by a TV or Facebook like I am at home. Good plan.
The sad part was realizing many of my contacts have passed away. Or are my physicians. Others only have email, telephone numbers, or old addresses. (So if you want a Christmas card from me, you need to send me your current mailing address--before Thanksgiving--so I have time to purchase more cards. Send the mailing address by email, text, or post it on my FB page with me only as the audiance.)
I do not use messenger.
All of that to say: This year I started Christmas before Thanksgiving.
To compound my error, I got suckered into listening to Christmas carols on the drive home tonight.
How?
I heard an advertisement that Sirus was free between now and Christmas, so I checked it out--usually it's just a come on. They actually had several of my favorote stations to choose from: 70s, Broadway, Big Band, Christmas, Sinatra, and Hallmark. I can reveal this because I'm secure in my musical geekiness. I also listen to the family friendly comedy channel. I wish Sirus also had a Barbershop channel.
All of that to say: This year I started Christmas before Thanksgiving.
To compound my error, I got suckered into listening to Christmas carols on the drive home tonight.
How?
I heard an advertisement that Sirus was free between now and Christmas, so I checked it out--usually it's just a come on. They actually had several of my favorote stations to choose from: 70s, Broadway, Big Band, Christmas, Sinatra, and Hallmark. I can reveal this because I'm secure in my musical geekiness. I also listen to the family friendly comedy channel. I wish Sirus also had a Barbershop channel.
And a BBC story channel.
I am still bah-humming during this inbetween time so I didn't even consider listening to the Christmas Carol channel.
I know the Hallmark TV channel is chalk-full of unabashedly sappy Christmas movies. Nevertheless, when I saw the Hallmark radio channel listed I thought, "Maybe it's a story channel" and I tapped it--exposing my Pollyanna naïveté. Was it a sappy story channel?
Nope.
It's a Christmas Carol channel in disguise.
And the carol playing was one of my favorites. As was the next. And the next. Before I knew it I had taken a scenic drive, gone through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru for dinner, and was less than one carol away from home. Every Christmas carol had been a sappy schmaltzy version of one of my favorites.
Just like the Hallmark channel movies.
And then the song I was wanting to hear, the song that always puts a smile on my face, came on. Only it was the Gwen Stephani version--which I really liked--but I had my heart set on hearing my all-time favorite verson of "Jingle Bells"--the dorky way Meg Ryan sings it in "Sleepless in Seattle."
"...horses, horses, horses..."
So I got suckered into Christmas before Thanksgiving this year. And when I arrived home I found packages stacked outside my door. Kind of like a Christmas tree.
It appears there is no turning back.
Merry Christmas!
Before Thanksgiving.
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