I Miss This

Said the night wind to the little lamb: “Do you see what I see? Way up in the sky, little lamb Do you see what I see? A star, a star, dancing in the night With a tail as big as a kite With a tail as big as a kite”

(Do you Hear What I Hear)

To me that is the sound of Christmas that is what I hear, the night sky saying to a little lamb that there is a star that that has a big tale attached to it. I recently fell in love with the song (I was looking at Face Vocal Band and came across it in their latest album “Joy to the World”). Enjoying the song I have not been able to stop listening to some of their other stuff, I hear the Bells is another one that is fantastic. I am not here to talk about them right now, instead I am here to talk about what I miss at this time of the year.

There are several things that I love about this time of the year, the madness that happens with the shows around town. The Christmas cheer that is sitting around and waiting for someone to acknowledge it. It is all a lot of fun to sit and stay warm by the fire while your dog is snoring louder than the TV, and your other one is refusing to lay down despite being sleepy, instead she must protect her people from the leaf that caused a lot of trouble. It’s a thing on the dog’s task list, and I feel safe that they are protecting us from the leaf (no not the car) that was in the driveway. This is also the same single brain celled dog that was barking at Mufasa, Zazu, Simba, Nala, the hyenas and Scar while I was re watching the 2019 version of The Lion King.

There is another part of this time of year that I strangely enough looked forward to this year and I wish I knew why… gift giving. I have never liked the idea of having to find the most perfect thing to give someone and I still don’t. Somehow this year is different, I think it is because I see all of the good friends that I have over the past year and know that whatever I gift they will enjoy. Hear me out I am always grateful for anything that I get. I have things hanging up in my room from amazing friends of mine. One of them is a card from my graduation and another is a thank you note from the same couple thanking me for attending their wedding. I am always reminded that even though there might be a tough time going on I have people in my corner that support me. There is a hard part to it though, returning those gifts.

This year I am trying to figure out what to give those around me that I care and support and do the same back to me. For my brother I got it figured out, for my two friends I have something small, but I think they would enjoy it, and honestly my parents are the hardest ones to figure out. It seems that when you are an adult you can do what you want, and that is a blessing and a curse. I know that there are things that they want but I know the answer that I will get. “Something for the house” or “Can’t think of anything”, this is the issue with online shopping nowadays… It is impossible to find the right item that is perfect for those around you, it would be nice to walk around a store for hours on end and pick the right item for them.

I am reminded of a tradition that used to go on at my high school when I went there. The tradition goes that the choir department would call all their alumni back to sing one song that was super pretty. I remember running the sound and somehow the mics got placed in the perfect position, all the settings were right, and I got all the voices in the choir running though the main sound system. I stood out of the control room in the dark auditorium and listened, holding my breath as the choir sang This Christmastide. The choir was holding LED candles, so there were only the candles on the stage. I almost cried because of how pretty it was. Listening to the song now I am almost in tears of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YxGFKM27_8 This version of the song is even better, and I am about to cry because of this.

So, this year I am excited for Christmas to come, I do not enjoy Christmas carols (sorry Mariah Carey fans) but there are some carols that I do enjoy, most of them I already mentioned. Songs like You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch I hear the Bells O Come; O Come Emmanuel are my favorites. Just because I don’t like Christmas carols doesn’t mean that I hate the holiday. I love it for things I have mentioned before. I get to put up the decorations, hang the stockings, think about what this next year holds. I love being busy for the holidays, it takes my mind off things for a second. There are, however, the holiday stresses that are around, that will never go away. I miss it all.

Of course, there are some things that I don’t like about this time: The music and how popular it is. It can be hard to find a good rendition of a classic song. All I want for Christmas is You, a perfect example of that (sorry Mariah Carey fans, but it is overdone and old, no matter where I go, I hear her. It’s a meme on YouTube, that we freeze her, and she will thaw November 1st, she is a good singer but it’s too old) I am also not a fan of the weather, where I live it is warm in the 50s sweatshirt weather. In January we will get caked in snow. It gives me an excuse to sit by the fire and play on the Nintendo switch…. (wait, this might be in the wrong category)

Despite there being the good and the bad, I love this time of year, a time of tradition, a time of friends and family. Plus, a time to see those who care enough to care about you.

¡Feliz Navidad a todos y a todos una buena noche!

(Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!)

Fuzz