Wednesday, 12/19

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all though the house, Jim stood there in terror, hoping he wasn’t a louse.

Don’t worry; I’m not REALLY a louse. It’s just that that’s the only word I could think that that rhymed with “house” and wasn’t “mouse”. I mean. . .it wouldn’t make sense if I said I was a “bouse” or a “pouse’ or a “wouse”, unless I was living in a Dr. Seuss story, right? Although that would be kind of interesting. . .

You could call it “Jim On A Whim”.

Anyways. . .what was I babbling about before my train of thought got derailed even before leaving the station? That’s right; with just a few days left before Christmas Eve, I’ve increasingly come yo the realization that I’ve done woefully few things to get ready for the holidays.

Cookies made? Nope, although they will be this weekend.

Gifts wrapped? Well, at least I've purchased most of them. That counts for something, doesn't it?

Two foot tall LED Christmas tree put up? Uhm. . .I got it out of the basement last night. That also counts for something, doesn't it?

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” viewed? I know where the DVD is. Please tell me THAT counts for something.

Now, don’t think this is because I’m not happy that the holiday’s coming or that I don’t have any Christmas spirit. Neither of those is true. Instead, I’ve found myself fallen victim to the same malady that many of you also find yourself catching, the fact that you don’t have any time, and by the time you realize you don’t have any time, you’ve run out of time to do anything about it.

I actually realized I needed to get my butt in gear three or so weeks ago, and promised myself that, as soon as I had a few spare moments, that I would think about gifts and trees and Charlie Brown. Unfortunately, one of two things happened--either I, in my old age, forgot about my promise to myself, or I just didn’t have any spare time.

I’m thinking it’s the latter. After all, it seems to be an annual holiday tradition for many of us, doesn’t it? Despite the best of intentions, the time we set aside for our usual commitments collides with the time we try to set aside for our holiday commitments, and that creates a black hole into which those best intentions then spiral. We keep trying. . .we keep hoping we can learn from past mistakes, but in the end, the pull of that black hole of time proves to be too strong. Add into that the TV and History Center stuff I discussed yesterday, and well...

That's my excuse, feeble as it may be.

But now that I’ve stood in my apartment and had that wave of terror wash over me, I’m hoping I can get everything done. Sure, I have a few more gifts to pick up, but I know what I need to get. Sure, I then have to wrap everything, but I have to work Thursday night, and can wrap them while I'm running a basketball game. One the great joys of an LED Christmas tree? Once you go into the basement and actually bring it up, you just need to plug it in, and it’s ready to go.

And “Charlie Brown”? Well, that's coming soon. It has to. Watching the 24 minutes of the Christmas show is always one of the highlights of my holiday season.

So with a mere 100-some hours left before Christmas Eve, I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ll be able to get everything done. After all, who wants to be a louse during the holidays, right? Or a “bouse” or a “pouse’ or a “wouse”?

(jim@wmqt.com), off to wrap up my TV commitments for the next few weeks.