Tis the Season

Here we go again. The accelerated and complete chronology crunch is upon us as the close of the year sprints towards our event planner. As I get older, it seems to me that the years grow shorter and I feel like all the old men I used to mock as I pontificate about how quickly days go by.

What is it about life that leads one to become their elders far too soon? What is it about the calendar that seems to be fleeting as your sunsets increase? Is this inevitability or am I just trapped in a cultural acid trip, wrapped in a sale ad from Macy’s?

Well, I don’t think I’ll solve that mystery tonight, but I do know that it is the season to be jolly so I suppose that means it is now time for me to ‘fa’ my ‘la-la-la-la’ and spend some cash. Soon the halls of malls will be filled with madness and credit card warriors bustling down the merchandise highway looking for the right exit.

I take a simple approach to Christmas shopping. I actually stay in my budget and refuse to go into debt. If all I can afford is a cupcake with two candy corns pushed into it with red and green icing, then that’s what you will receive. If I can afford a leather cowboy hat and you like to ride horses and aren’t allergic to dead cow skin, then you might receive a Stetson.

Tis’ the season to be jolly and there are two holidays coexisting at the same time. One is the savior of retail marketing and the other is focused on the Savior of the world. I hope you direct your bifocals towards the latter and see the former for what it is.