December 25, Christmas Day – same day just a different year. The recurrence of the holiday should not be a surprise to me, but yet I am flabbergasted by the arrival of the Holiday Season each and every year. And, each and every December 25 concludes with excessive egg nog drinking and my resolution that next year will be better. That I will start earlier. That I will have Christmas pictures taken the day after Thanksgiving. That I will put my Christmas tree up before Christmas Eve. That I will actually give the neighbors real homemade cookies and not the irregular goof ups that I buy at the bakery to pass off as my own.
Did I do it? Was Christmas 2010 better than past years? Well, the answer to the question all depends on who is making the judgment and how low the bar is set. For the first time ever, Christmas cards and presents will arrive at their destinations no later than MLK Day opposed to their usual President’s Day arrival. The tree has been up since December 19, and cookies will be baked a few hours before Santa's arrival, maybe.
It is all about small steps. Maybe someday I'll be that Christmas caroler with the Jingle Bell earrings, the reindeer antler headband and the candy cane perfume. But until then, I am simply satisfied that my Poinsettias are only partially dead and my tree-topping star is sort of straight.
