Monday, December 20, 2010

"They're singing 'Deck the Halls,'/But it's not like Christmas at all."

The Song: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," U2. Words & music by Eleanor Greenwich, Jeff Barry & Philip Spector. Track 9 of A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 1, 1987.
How/when acquired: Purchased MP3, 2009
Listen/watch here.

This song may be not only my favorite Christmas pop song, but my favorite U2 song as well. (Okay, second to "One." But it's close.) It's worth clicking through to that video just to remind yourself what Bono looks like without sunglasses.

As usual, my travel plans have slipped by a day. Dizzy and I leave tomorrow for points south. It'll probably snow along the way; we'll just have to deal with it. The VW is not a bad car in snow, as long as the snow doesn't get deeper than about four inches (clearance is low).

I hear people say, "I just don't feel Christmasy this year," and never really know what they mean. They're anxious, of course; everyone is anxious, and this year more than usual. But I'm not sure what they mean by "Christmasy," or why they let the anxiety interfere with that.

What is Christmas supposed to feel like? It made me anxious even as a child. In a family of six kids, we never had a Christmas that didn't include someone melting down by the end of the day. More than one Christmas included a trip to the emergency room. I remember a few Christmas dinners in the Officers' Mess of whatever ship my father was serving on; that was always exciting, but stressful in its own way, as it involved dressing up, best behavior, and food we didn't always recognize.

That said, I've never stopped believing in magic at Christmastime, and that magic has never — never, in 45 years — let me down. It's true, it's one more illustration of my charmed life, but it's also all in how you look at it. When magic is what you expect, magic is what you see. When home is where you want to be, home is where you make it.

This year, "home for Christmas" is my brother James' house. But even if I were snowed in alone with Dizzy, I'd still be home for Christmas.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hope your charmed life continues for another Christmas. I guess like you it's how you look at things. If you notice and expect good stuff you'll feel charmed.

Saw on the news that people were stuck at Heathrow because of snow. Would you still feel charmed if you were sleeping on the floor for a couple of days or would the charm have sent you out the day before from a different airport?

I hadn't heard that song for a long time, thanks for posting....Joe

Ellen Clair Lamb said...

I have been snowed in overnight at the Philadelphia Airport. It wasn't great, but I got a lot of reading done. I can sleep pretty much anywhere.