Blog

A Boomer’s Journal

By Tom Anselm

Well, friends, how are you all holding up this Christmas season? Yeah, I said Christmas, not Holiday, so there. And who cares what Starbucks puts on their cups? I wouldn’t spend $6.50 for a cup of Jamieson much less a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Frappucino Blended with Skim Milk and Low Foam. (But I digress, and so early in the column, at that. My apologies.)

Have you been melting the chip on those new credit cards? Flying around the ‘interwebs’ snatching up those ‘free-shipping with orders over $100” specials? Gettin’ them mangled-tangled strings of lights up yet, Sparky? It is indeed that most wonderful time of the year, when it’s easy to lose one’s mind with all that needs to get done by December 24th.

I got it lucky, as do a lot of guys. My duties consist of a specific few. It is my responsibility to decorate the gutters and windows, put up the tree and serve as the DPC (Designated Parcel Carrier) as The Lovely Jill and I venture into The Mad Land of Retail Mayhem. The DPC duties might include an occasional query as to my opinion, such as “Do you think the grandkids would like these jackets?’ To which I then opine. And, miracle of miracles, sometimes she even agrees with me.

The tree part is kind of a cinch, since last year we eschewed the trip to the local lot and purchased a “real nas” Douglas Fir at the hardware store. It came after many years of overpriced real Douglas Firs that decided to shed as soon as they hit the door, and not a couple that eerily displayed minds of their own by tumbling to the carpet at 2 a.m. in spite of my fishing-line guywires nailed to the baseboard. But this new-and-improved model came with built-in lights, which is nothing short of awesome! (And just a side note here.

You may recall that a few years ago we donated an artificial tree to a charity. After delivery, the top section was reported as missing. I looked high and low for that dang thing, and no luck. It probably made its way to The Island of Misfit Toys.)

Anyway, after my few jobs are done, I am duly assigned to providing moral support to The Event Planner member of this team.

These few weeks can be a time of great stress. A priest we heard recently noted this in his sermon, saying that we must guard against letting “busy” take over our lives. He even referred to it as an acronym, B.U.S.Y., as in “Burdened Under Satan’s Yoke.” And you know, it made sense. Consider the insanity of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thrift-store Thursday (okay, I made that one up… but maybe an idea?) all of which can contribute to losing sight of why we so anticipate December 25th in the first place. It’s like the old Beelzebub is putting up roadblocks in our path to peace. Duh… ya think?

We have a bit of a challenge in our midst this year, as The L.J. is under a burden, not of Satan’s Yoke, but of a left-ankle break in two places that she suffered the Saturday before Turkey Day. So, easily into the new year, her mobility will be aided by a knee scooter, or a walker, or just plain crawling up the steps. Talk about a built-in-slower-downer!

This means I will no doubt need to step up my game, Christmas-prep-wise. Which is fine with me, since I’ve had it pretty dang easy for some time.

Just know that, come Christmas Day, I will be decked out in my plaid Crazy Pants, tending the fire and sipping an adult beverage, as visions of wonderful chaos grip our homestead. We will once again thank The Big Gift-Giver in the Sky for the Present he sent to us long ago and far away in that little town called Bethlehem.

And we will wish you a Merry Christmas… We wish you a Happy Hanukkah… We wish you a Happy Kwanzaa…

And take it easy out there, friends.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us