Almost Christmas

Two weeks ago I noticed that the Carlson’s had put their Christmas lights up on their home. Wasn’t that rushing the season a bit? But then I looked at the flyers in Thursday’s paper immediately after Halloween, and all were promoting Christmas.
We hadn’t even gotten to Remembrance Day. That used to be the day when the community went to the Cenotaph and in the afternoon, the merchants and their staffs converted their stores to Christmas. Today, that change over occurs earlier on the calendar.
The Carlsons were not early and they did their lighting in shirtsleeves.
Friday night as I drove to the airport to pick up my wife, two homes along Fifth Street were colorfully lit with their outdoor lights. I felt a little bit envious knowing that I would not be putting the lights up in warm weather. I also knew that the branches in my flowering crabs would be brittle and I would come out of the trees scraped, battered and bleeding.
I prefer to put the lights up on a warm sunshiny day. Snow, ice and rain are unwelcome. Extension cords uncurl easier with the warmth of the southern sun. The strings of lights expand and stretch easier too.
Saturday was too bitterly cold and wet to put the lights up. It wasn’t even safe to walk around the yard. Marnie and I did some Christmas shopping. Christmas music was playing in several of the stores.
Sunday, the rain had stopped, the ice had melted and even though the wind was blowing a cold, biting breeze, I committed to putting the lights up.
Leaving the lights up in the trees year round hopefully makes outdoor lighting easier. You still end up replacing strings. The branches were just as brittle and hard as I imagined. I lucked out. The lights came on. And then I put the lights on the shrubs. All but one half string lighted.
In the kitchen, Christmas fruitcakes were baking. They were filling the house with the wonderful smells of cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and brandy. Just walking in from the cold outdoors filled your nostrils with the warmth of the Christmas season.
Earlier this past week, our house was filled with smells from the Christmas baking. Walking through the back door into the aromas from the kitchen was wonderful. Yet now is all packed and sealed away in the freezer waiting for Christmas.
Everything seems early. Yet I look at the calendar and there is less than 6 weeks to Christmas. Parades, parties, school concerts will descend on us and our lives will speed up trying to catch up in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.
And I have just heard from my future daughter-in-law that she and Adam will arrive home on Christmas eve.
–Jim Cumming,
Publisher