Lights on the Tree (and other things Christmas)

 A couple of years ago, I wrote a post for our blog titled Joy to the World? that I still think is a pretty good post.  Writing that particular post helped me to figure out why I wasn't feeling particularly 'Christmasy' that December and that, perhaps, that was ok if I just took a moment to realize that I was just feeling joy differently than perhaps I used to.

The weather this November and December has been unseasonably warm.  And, we've gotten alot of rain - which is also not normal for this time of year.  We usually don't associate a whole day soaking rain with December 23.  We definitely do not associate water in the basement and mud up to our knees (when I fall in head first) with mid-December either.  Yet, here we are. 

Frankly, I'm not a person who gets too stuck on having snow on Christmas.  Sure, it's nice and it does look good.  But, its absence or presence will not make or break my Christmas.  In fact, we have some residents of the farm who much prefer this weather to sub-zero temps with snow.

But, I don't LIKE snow, said the chicken.

 One of the hazards of the academic profession is the heavy load the occurs just prior to Christmas.  Tammy has to fight through the semester and then finals, which usually means long hours and lots of energy used.  Then, she gets to grade and do other things that are critical for her job, but cannot be done until the term is complete and the grades are in.  Well, it turns out that a long Fall is also hazardous for finding times to be Christmasy if you're a veggie farmer.  We just keep having more things we need to do on the farm.

We still had some nice looking field crops in November

So, suddenly it is Christmas.  We haven't put up any decorations (sort of, see below) and we haven't really adjusted mindsets for the holiday season either.  We're still just trying to get things done.  Absolutely nothing wrong with this except....

Well, it's Christmas.  Aren't we supposed to be feeling differently about it?  Doing differently because of it? 

Pretty cool picture, but you wouldn't guess mid-December on our farm for the date

We do have some solar Christmas lights on a couple of our outdoor trees and some solar lights on our front porch.  We put them on last year and we let them run all year long.  After all, they get a lot more sun and look much nicer in the Summer anyway.  With all of the clouds we have had, they are usually out by 6pm in December.  But, Tammy did put some of those battery powered candles in the windows of the house.  That looks pretty nice.

We've actually managed to do a little shopping for our family and friends.  We've been playing Christmas music quite a bit lately too.  So, we're doing Christmas things. 

So, what is the issue exactly?

It's all in our minds.  That's the issue.

We haven't taken the time to be ready for Christmas. 

Now, if you do not celebrate Christmas, perhaps you celebrate Eid, or Hannakuh or Kwanzaa or... well, fill in the blank.  Regardless of the celebration or holiday, you have to make yourself ready to participate in it.  It isn't just going to happen to you, you have to make it happen.  And, it doesn't require lots of preparation.  But, it does require an adjustment of attitude. 

And, I am realizing that we have already begun to make that adjustment.  Just in time.

Merry Christmas everyone!