“Bless Us All”

I’m blue.

Nay, I’m neither a Smurf nor suffering from the same elements poor Veruca Salt experienced in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”…I’m just plain blue…out of sorts, not myself, mopey, angsty blue.

When I woke up this morning (apparently, on the wrong side of the bed), I just knew something was off.  Something was amiss.  I ran through a list of possible causes in my head:  Underwear?  Check.  Waking up at 6 AM and NOT 6:00 PM?  Check.  Waking up in my own bed?  (My dog burrowing from beneath the covers confirmed this).  Check.  Then, why on earth did I feel like something wasn’t right?

My morning commute still found me feeling a little numb.  Instead of dwelling amidst a sea of self-doubt and worry, I decided to be proactive in eradicating this feeling.  Weapon of choice?  Christmas music.

Bing.  Bennett.  Mathis.  Carpenter.  Taylor.  The “Big Guns.”  Yielding such impressive artillery as “Silver Bells,”  “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Merry Christmas, Darlin’,” and ‘White Christmas,” one would think that a blue mood could effectively be annihilated by a mere 15 minutes of easy listening. 

I never expected such a worthy foe to stand in my way.

The clouds stayed over my head for much of my drive this morning.  Bing Crosby just shook his head, wiped his hands, and said “I got nothin’!”  Tony Bennett shouted “I’m giving her all she’s got, Captain!” and beamed away.  All hope seemed lost….until….

For the love of Jim Henson!  The Muppets!

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“’Tis the season to be merry…”

It’s officially November, officially cold, and officially time to shift our focus from weekends at the lake to weekends quarantined indoors due to 6 feet of snowfall.

For me, this time of year has always brought a bit of excitement with it.  The Halloween costumes have all been put away…there’s no longer a month-long build-up to a holiday worshiped by kindergarteners and college freshmen.  I love autumn, and I hate to see the fall months pass by so quickly, but I can’t help feel a twinge of excitement knowing what’s to come ahead:  the “holiday season,” a period of two months highlighted by Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve/Day, and New Year’s Eve/Day (not to mention Black Friday).  How can anyone not be overjoyed to know that turkey, stuffing, Rudolph, candy canes, and noise makers are just right around the corner?

When I was little, the holidays were my entire reason for living during those dreary winter months.  Gram would start to bake endless amounts of Italian cookies.  Mom would play Christmas carols to wake me up for school each morning.  Dad would send me hurtling at blinding speeds down Jamestown’s biggest snow-covered hill, with only an inner tube and an overstuffed snow suit to keep me from harm.  Papa would “allow” me to shovel his front walk after I begged mercilessly, and after we would watch Home Alone in the warmth of his living room…which also served as my imaginary ice rink when I believed I would become a world class figure skater at the age of 8.  It’s hard to do triple lutzes when there’s a coffee table and a fireplace in your way.