I've decided that there are aspects to my experiences in the Sunshine State
BE SURE TO CHECK THE BLOG ARCHIVE TO THE RIGHT
AND START FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY!
 |
| If you don't get this joke, you won't like my blogs. |
Regardless of what the Christmas
season really means to you personally, most people have the same general idea
of the sights and sounds that remind them the holiday season is once again
descending upon us, earlier and earlier every year it seems. Personally, I
don’t think Christmas carols should be sung, eggnog drank, or Christmas Vacation watched until after
Thanksgiving. Corporate America seems to believe just the opposite, suggesting
Christmas sales and the holiday season should start some short number of hours
after we sing “Auld Lang Syne”, but I digress…
 |
| You can put Santa hats on seahorses all you want, but that doesn't make it Christmas. |
Christmas trees, twinkly lights,
snow, and all those things that show “it’s beginning to look a lot like", well, you know, mean a little less in a warmer climate, at least to someone who grew up in a
much more frigidly-winter, December environment. I mean, when it’s warm and
sunny enough to be on your motorcycle on December 8 and you’re used to wearing
three layers just to go check the mail, it just doesn't feel like Christmas. I
don’t care how many lights you put up, Christmas isn't supposed to be comfortable.
It’s supposed to be cold, miserable, gloomy, and bleak, said the grumpy old man
(that’s me), whose heart could use growing three sizes this week. It’s not
quite time to start saying “Mele Kalikimaka”, but it’s close!
Still, it’s the only real
difference I can find between Christmas here and Christmas in WV, a humid
Christmas versus a frosty Christmas. The local downtown area, the local parks,
homes around the neighborhood, and all the stores are decked out for the
season. I still hear all the same Christmas tunes everywhere I go. No matter
what I do, though, it just doesn't seem like Christmas. To be honest, this has
been a building concern for a few years. It may just be due to the fact that
I’m getting older and I don’t have any kids to keep the spirit alive like I
once did myself, but whatever the reason, Christmas seems to have lost some of
the magic it once held over me.
I've decorated the apartment.
I've got all my Christmas LPs out, and I’m even currently enjoying one
compilation as I type. I've got Christmas cards ready to be personalized. I've
even had some Peppermint Bark! Plus, Disney (where I’m now working part-time…blog
post to come in the future) is all about the Christmas season, and they have
been since early in November. Maybe a trip to the Magic Kingdom
Also, it doesn't help being so
far away from family and friends. I’m planning on making a trip home for the
holidays, but I’m not sure when, yet. I’m definitely looking forward to
reconnecting with people! You don’t realize how long three and a half months is
until you’re far from everything you've ever known. I’m not going to be able to
be there on Christmas, though, because I wasn't able to get that week off work
100%. Until then, my work with Christmas
cards and some good Christmas jams will have to hold me over. So, in case I don't get to see you, I wish you and yours the very merriest of Christmases, and the happiest of New Years.
Feel free to check out my other blogs, too.
