I’ve been told I have eclectic tastes in music. I know this. It isn’t a surprise to me. So when Annie told me my Christmas playlist was filled with weird songs, I agreed. It includes tracks from albums like Punk Goes Christmas, Let It Snow Baby … Let It Reindeer, and Family Force 5’s Christmas Pageant. I listen to holiday tunes from MxPx, Sufjan Stevens, Barenaked Ladies, and Chance the Rapper. Annie’s claim is more statement of fact than it is an opinion. I have some weird music in my Christmas collection.
She wasn’t the only one to let me know this year. One by one, each of the kids told me the same thing: “Dad, your Christmas music is weird.” However, JJ had the best way to reveal this non-revelatory statement. He paired the accusation with a request.
“Dad,” he said, “you listen to some really weird Christmas songs. Can you play The Night Santa Went Crazy again? I like that one a lot.”
Common
We celebrate Christmas Eve with Annie’s side of the family every year. Their tradition is a white elephant exchange with an expectation of everyone bringing something of $50 value to contribute. Inevitably, a theme emerges every year. No one plans it yet it seems like we coordinated our gift plans prior to the party.
Last year, the theme was pots and pans. Not every gift could be used for cooking and baking, but several were sets of pots, pans, fancy skillets, or stoneware. This year, the theme was blankets and knives. At least five people included a blanket in their gift. Several, including Annie, brought knife sets in a kitchen block or hunting knives. Considering booze is a recurring gift every year, I told Annie and her sister that we all had the same plan: to get drunk, murder someone, and stay warm while doing it.
Winning
Giving gifts to others generates the feelings of glad tidings and joy. It might also reward you with a sense of deep satisfaction. My parents flew out to visit this year – that alone is the best Christmas present I could have received. Seeing them open the gifts we gave them was so much greater with them here than if we had seen pictures through social media after the fact. Dad immediately put his hat on and wore it for the next three hours. Mom squealed at the sight of her sweatshirt. She even declared it to be “the best present ever.” Clearly, we won Christmas.
Planning
2020 has arrived. New Year’s Day comes with New Year’s resolutions. I generally eschew resolutions as they tend to be unreasonable or abandoned within the first few weeks of January. This year is different. I’ve determined this is the year I finish my book. Actually, a complete (and rough) first draft. This is a goal requiring significant time and focus. It also needs planning and breaking the end result down into tiny achievable steps to get me there. So excuse me while I step away from the internet for a while and work on my manuscript.
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