Last Sunday, our pastor at the church asked me last minute to read a monologue by Howard Shirley entitled Joy for Christmas — little did I know that this was practically close to home……
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It’s Christmas again. Not that the stores haven’t been telling us that since October, when it wasn’t Christmas at all. One of these days they’re just going to lump it all inot one big buying frenzy called “HappyHallowThankAChristmaHannukahdan”, just to cover the bases. But these days you just get Santa Claus stuck in with the Pilgrims, because nobody buys much besides a turkey before Thanksgiving.
Even if the stores weren’t constantly reminding me that it was Christmas, Mom’s always there to back them up. I get her on the phone and it’s,
“Did you remember Christmas is coming? I haven’t gotten my card yet — you have to send them early if you don’t want them showing up in January. You might want to get a head start!”
My yearly Christmas assignment — sending out Christmas cards to people I only contact once a year and haven’t seen since that last family reunion when I was in fifth grade. Oh joy.
Mom doesn’t stop with the cards.
” Have you been invited to any Christmas parties? “
she asks. Which is secret code for
” How’s your social life? “
And that’s always followed by
” Do you have a date?
Which is not so secret code for
” Is there any remote possibility of grandchildren before the decade is out? “
(Sighs)
That’s Mom. Christmas is for family, and preferably family that is adding members both legally and biologically, and preferably in that order. Though last Christmas she actually told Aunt Marge that she was willing to accept a reversal in the process … We almost had to call the paramedics. That Christmas was a joyful one.
Okay, yes, I used to look forward to Christmas. What kid doesn’t love all the lights and the decorations and the presents? And when I was a teenager and in college, you couldn’t keep me away from a party. But these days — these days I’m wondering what the fuss is all really about.
Every year it’s the same thing. Ads, muzak, lighting competitions sponsored by the power company — that doesn’t hurt their end-of-the-year profits — and the same dull parties with the same dull people spouting the same dull platitudes. And then when it’s all done, what’s changed? The world goes back to the way it was before. And Mom is left once again with no engagement to announce to her bridge club. That’s what Christmas is like for me.
I want it to be different. I really do. I want that joy back that I used to have at Christmas. Not the kind of joy of getting presents, but real joy. The joy of being certain that something special was happening, that when it was all done, the world would indeed be better. More hopeful. More peaceful. More joyful…. that’s what I want my Christmas to be.
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Coincidence? Or is the Universe finally telling me something? Either way, I do feel that this Christmas is special — in more ways than one.
And like I always say, this’d better be good, Universe, this’d better be good.
xoxo
