It’s that strange time of year. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is when time seems to stand still. The week is still the same length, seven days, but the time gets lost in some kind of black hole in the time space continuum.
The hustle and bustle of Christmas is over and very much seems distant as everybody takes a deep breath and moves on. Oh the remnants of Christmas are still strewn about. There’s still gifts under the tree and tags still on some clothing. Gift bags and boxes are in that state of flux, halfway between thrown out or being kept for future use. And of course the tree and decorations are still very much part of the decor, although they’ve been up for so long that there’s almost a permanence to them. The decorations start to become forgotten after Christmas as people forget to turn on the tree and outdoor lights.
Of course contemplating when to take down the tree and decorations means having that yearly internal discussion about whether this is the year to scale back and perhaps toss out some of the decorations. But that would also mean doing a thorough cleaning and sorting of the storage area in the basement and really who wants to do that.
When the holidays fall during the middle of the week it becomes even more difficult to keep track of time. The whole week feels like a weekend and the weekend feels like nothing which is rather remarkable considering how important weekends can be.
You can tell how happy people are to be done with Christmas by how quickly everybody moves on. People take off on vacations this week to warmer climates or just to get away from their over decorated house.
Plans for the New Year are bandied about, lists are made and resolutions are considered. The resolve to make the next year better is very powerful this week when really it’s simply a flip of the calendar and really any change can happen at anytime. If flipping a calendar results in any meaningful change then perhaps it’s a change that won’t last but the new year certainly brings fresh attitudes and hope.
I spent a few minutes looking back at this past year. I don’t typically like to look back as my mind contemplates the negatives far more than the positives. I tend to get bogged down by the would’ve, could’ve and should’ve. But I do like to re-read a few old blog posts from this year and review the books I’ve read this year ( did I really read that many baseball books ?) Looking back can be beneficial, everybody grows and changes and suffers. Being able to move forward without being burdened or paralyzed by the past is difficult but so rewarding and important.
It’s with that hope that we look forward to each New Year’s Eve and so with balls dropping, party hats askew, and a song sung only on this day we glance forward…so go ahead and make resolutions, call old friends, book that vacation……I’ll be rearranging the basement and contemplating tossing out a few decorations ( but probably not )
Peace and Love,
John
John's Blog 