That Time of Year
Okay, this will be my first guest blog ever...The only problem is, what to blog about?
I could blog about the fact that I shouldn't be blogging at all, given that I need to finish the first of my three papers that are due before this hellish semester can finally end. I've also got to study for two finals (two law school finals, that is) in there, so, uh, yeah, the next couple of weeks are not going to be pretty for me.
I could blog about that, but I'm sure no one wants to hear it. Plus I do that on my own blog all the time, much to the chagrin of my five dutiful readers, so in the spirit of not wanting to alienate anyone else, I will not say any more on the matter.
Instead, I'll blog about that which has been on my mind this morning.
Today is the beginning of my favorite time of year. I love the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Before Thanksgiving, it's all anticipation. And after Christmas, I get depressed as I think, not optimistically ahead to the new year, but back on the old year, with a sense of defeatism that another year has slipped by and so many things in my life are exactly the same as they were the year before. I sometimes wish I could bottle that feeling up so that I could remember it all year, so that it might be a motivating factor. It's easy to get complacent when the rest of the year is ahead of you, and it really only hits me sometime after Christmas, when all the year's roundup specials are on television, that the year is over and I've accomplished very little. Not that I particularly set out to accomplish anything, but one likes to think that they are making progress rather than just standing still...
But I digress.
The point is, that this is the happy time of year. I just love the atmosphere of it all, even more now that I live in the north. See, I'm from Mississippi, where there are only two seasons and winter isn't really one of them. Not real winter. I mean, it gets cold sometimes, but not for very long. Once in a blue moon it even snows.
Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, only I've never really been able to say why. I suppose when I was younger it was the presents. But now it's more than that, not that at all really. And it isn't for religious reasons either. The period from Good Friday to Easter is much more significant on that front.
No, Christmas - the Christmas season really, for I do not think of it as just one day - is my favorite because of that feeling I get when it arrives. I love hearing Christmas music playing when I walk into a store. I love seeing lights and decorations as I walk home in the dark. I love to see people shopping and thinking of others. I love watching Christmas movies, no matter how dumb or hokey they may be.
But I cannot really say why, or what this feeling is. Is it nostalgia? Maybe so. It's certainly not a giddy happy feeling. It's more like a meloncholy feeling, almost sad. But happy at the same time. It makes me want to cry, not because I'm depressed, but not quite because I'm happy either. I wish I could say exactly what it was, since other people are so easily able to explain why their favorite holiday is indeed their favorite.
In the end though, it doesn't matter. Because it brings a smile to my face. And that is really the most important thing.
Sorry for the long post. Those who read my blog are used to it. I tend to be very verbose, even when I don't mean to be. I get carried away. I would suggest you go read my blog, but as I'm likely to be doing very little posting over the next couple of weeks (though I always say that and I still post anyway), it might be futile to do so. But this has been fun, so thanks to John for opening up his blog. If I can remember, I'll be sure to do it next month.
~Shannon Black
I could blog about the fact that I shouldn't be blogging at all, given that I need to finish the first of my three papers that are due before this hellish semester can finally end. I've also got to study for two finals (two law school finals, that is) in there, so, uh, yeah, the next couple of weeks are not going to be pretty for me.
I could blog about that, but I'm sure no one wants to hear it. Plus I do that on my own blog all the time, much to the chagrin of my five dutiful readers, so in the spirit of not wanting to alienate anyone else, I will not say any more on the matter.
Instead, I'll blog about that which has been on my mind this morning.
Today is the beginning of my favorite time of year. I love the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Before Thanksgiving, it's all anticipation. And after Christmas, I get depressed as I think, not optimistically ahead to the new year, but back on the old year, with a sense of defeatism that another year has slipped by and so many things in my life are exactly the same as they were the year before. I sometimes wish I could bottle that feeling up so that I could remember it all year, so that it might be a motivating factor. It's easy to get complacent when the rest of the year is ahead of you, and it really only hits me sometime after Christmas, when all the year's roundup specials are on television, that the year is over and I've accomplished very little. Not that I particularly set out to accomplish anything, but one likes to think that they are making progress rather than just standing still...
But I digress.
The point is, that this is the happy time of year. I just love the atmosphere of it all, even more now that I live in the north. See, I'm from Mississippi, where there are only two seasons and winter isn't really one of them. Not real winter. I mean, it gets cold sometimes, but not for very long. Once in a blue moon it even snows.
Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, only I've never really been able to say why. I suppose when I was younger it was the presents. But now it's more than that, not that at all really. And it isn't for religious reasons either. The period from Good Friday to Easter is much more significant on that front.
No, Christmas - the Christmas season really, for I do not think of it as just one day - is my favorite because of that feeling I get when it arrives. I love hearing Christmas music playing when I walk into a store. I love seeing lights and decorations as I walk home in the dark. I love to see people shopping and thinking of others. I love watching Christmas movies, no matter how dumb or hokey they may be.
But I cannot really say why, or what this feeling is. Is it nostalgia? Maybe so. It's certainly not a giddy happy feeling. It's more like a meloncholy feeling, almost sad. But happy at the same time. It makes me want to cry, not because I'm depressed, but not quite because I'm happy either. I wish I could say exactly what it was, since other people are so easily able to explain why their favorite holiday is indeed their favorite.
In the end though, it doesn't matter. Because it brings a smile to my face. And that is really the most important thing.
Sorry for the long post. Those who read my blog are used to it. I tend to be very verbose, even when I don't mean to be. I get carried away. I would suggest you go read my blog, but as I'm likely to be doing very little posting over the next couple of weeks (though I always say that and I still post anyway), it might be futile to do so. But this has been fun, so thanks to John for opening up his blog. If I can remember, I'll be sure to do it next month.
~Shannon Black
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