Train of Thought Derailed 12/18/2022

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

I sat down to write this, and I was all set. I had my notes in front of me so that I could remember all the things I wanted to cover. For those of you who thought that my writing just flowed from me like a spring I thank you, but it is far more like a well scenario. In fact, it is very much like an old well that no one has really used in a good long while and you’re just hoping as you drop that bucket down that it actually hits something you can bring up. And if there is something in it to be found, it can often take a disconcerting amount of manual labor to get it up.  The quality of the contents of the well are also highly subjective. But I digress. If I have a fair number of notes, I can usually string some sentences together and this time I felt moderately comfortable that the bucket wouldn’t come up dry.  It was then that I realized that next week’s blog would publish on Christmas day. This is all well and good, except for the fact that this was going to be a decidedly Christmas blog and if I used up these notes this week, I felt fearfully certain that no matter how far the chain lowered in one week’s time, the well bucket was coming up with nothing but dust for the 25^th.  So, despite notes in hand, I had to go back to the drawing board. Honestly, as I am typing this, I have no idea where I am going.  I know I say that sometimes but really, no. Your guess is as good as mine.  The hamster on the wheel is at this very moment running his wee legs off trying to produce something. Oh. Wait. I may have something.  No. That’s too random, isn’t it?  And I certainly can’t make a whole post out of that, can I?  Well, my beloved readers, from the way things are going, you’re in for an erratic ride today.

Why do we send greetings on every other occasion using the term happy except for Christmas?  At what other point in everyday life do we use the term merry? I am not just typing out loud here. I genuinely have always been curious about this. We don’t describe anything else as merry. Well, maybe if you are some dapper gentleman time traveler from a bygone era you do.  But how many of that type of character does one run into? I have yet to come upon one in my nearly forty-two years.  I know what merry means. I have nothing against the term. It’s lovely if a bit antiquated though that is fine. I just find it odd that we embrace this dated term as our main statement of greeting once a year.  And even more interestingly, in Britain they do frequently say “Happy Christmas”.  See even in typing it that looks strange to me because we are so used to seeing and saying merry though happy seems far more logical. I’m fine with merry, really, I am but why haven’t we morphed it to Happy? No, it isn’t a big deal but part of me feels like we should either start using merry to describe other happy things or we should start wishing people happy Christmases.  Those are just my painfully random thoughts on the matter.  Maybe you’ve never really thought about it before.  Perhaps most people just let it go and not dwell on such inconsequential and/or ridiculous things like I do. That seems entirely possible as I am nothing if not an overthinker.

Let’s see.  Where else can we meander?  Here is another question that I ponder.  In the southern hemisphere Christmas falls in the summer.  Obviously, that would mean the holiday is drastically different, wouldn’t it?  I mean here we are full of snowflakes and snowmen and all the winter wonderland whatnots that come with it. Now, not that here in the American South, or at least my part of it, has much by way of snow but we do at least have something of a cooler season usually.  But if one is in the midst of summer, does one change all the Christmas related snow to sunshine? Does the holiday on the other half of the world just edit out all the winter themed songs and décor or do they embrace it and just, for lack of a better term, pretend?  Does an Australian sing that they are dreaming of a white Christmas because it’s hot (I’ve seen a few too warm holidays and I can relate to the sentiment) or do they just not sing it for the same reason?  I know a warm Christmas irritates the dickens out of me so I cannot imagine what it would be like to know that every one of them was going to be summery. Oh, the horror of the thought! Now, some who don’t like cold, I suppose that would be thrilling to you. But I am not those people. But yes, I just wonder, what exactly a Southern hemisphere Christmas looks like?  Perhaps one day I shall learn but I daresay I’ll prefer the northern hemisphere version.

I need to stop subjecting all of you to this. There was no rhyme or reason for any of it.  I suppose it was about Christmas indirectly, but it was more so about the arbitrary and possibly abnormal ways in which my enigma of a brain works.  Oh, my heavens, I hope no one is coming upon this for their first experience of my writing.  I am hoping desperately that those of you who are in fact reading this are regulars who can more easily tolerate my flights of fancy, or, not so fancy as the case may be. I shall end this with a few sentiments. Don’t let this season drain you so you can’t value the little things, such as wondering about frivolously fun little ideas.  And most importantly, keep in mind the true importance of the season upon us and, if I may be so bold as to add, that I am capable of better writing.