So, Christmas is "just around the corner"
which intellectually I think I understand,
but (and this is quite a large one...yeah,yeah
large butt, very funny)
this year the holiday or holy day
seems cheapened.
Maybe I've become jaded (hey, how cool would that be?
a thin covering of semi precious stone,
accompanied by super powers?)
Then you would really know who your friends are.
The world would not know how to deal with you/me.
For instance, you would probably have to check off some box,
on some official form, like say, your driver's license.
I could get so political here about airport security,
or the government, or how we label people,
not today. (Christmas too close to THE CORNER)
I'm focused on the large inflatable snowmen, penguins,
and Snoopy (poor Charles Schultz, whirling in his grave)
as well as the "Seasons Greetings" cards and annual letters.
Perhaps I just have weird friends or acquaintances,
or I think too much about the details,
but I really did not see this one coming.
Imagine opening an envelope, the address handwritten,
the front of the card a wintry scene:
horse drawn sleigh, warmly dressed, happy people,
a church with a wreath on the welcoming doors,
the sun setting through distant trees
geese migrating, two male cardinals perched by a river
or pond that reflects the CHRISTMAS FUN,
the title of the artwork.
Got the general picture?
Opening the card, two more red cardinals perched
and facing the printed message:
"May the joys of childhood be yours this holiday season.
Merry Christmas!"
Then on the opposite side, handwritten again,
(me thinking, wow, how nice-- they personalized this.)
was a long, long list of various people who had passed away
in this person's life, followed by an invitation
to visit whenever we're in Cape Cod. (So we can die,
the details included in next year's card?)
This is the point at which I realize
not everyone thinks like I do, especially
about Christmas. Or anything else, for that matter.
I guess I like my life one day at a time, some glances
backward to the past, some small hopes for the future,
nothing too grandiose or overly planned.
Whatever that corner is, I doubt it is specific
to Christmas.
In fact, I'd bet my life on that,
and Methodists don't bet.