Christmas Eve The holidays certainly came upon me without much planning on my part. I never did get a tree or even put up the lights that I bought. Other things just seemed to get in the way and now that it is over I have to say that Christmas Eve went rather well despite my lack of preparation. For me it is just a simple matter of showing up, eating some food and listening to stories for a few hours at my aunt's house. My immediate family doesn't even exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. There are times when I wonder what my relatives say about me after I have left. Then again maybe I am better off not knowing. They have never seen me with a girlfriend during the holidays. Most of my relationships seem to go up in flames before the Christmas season rolls around. I have never had to deal with someone else's relatives during the holidays. I can't remember working a Christmas Eve before, but it didn't bother me. I mean I was usually at home before midnight on a Christmas Eve anyway so it wasn't as though it cut into my personal time. Besides the whole spirit of Christmas still hasn't hit me and it may very well miss me entirely this year. Working made it seem even more like just another day. As I have grown older my impression of the day has changed. When I was growing up, I was part of a singing program at church each year. Weeks of practice would lead to one small performance that lasted all of an hour. Then when I went into high school all of that went away in an instant. Soon I was showing up at my aunt's house in my own car rather than with my parents. The night went from being an event to a simple gathering within the space of a few years. Once we get past Christmas all that we have left to celebrate is the end of the year. The holiday season will be over. Winter will slow everything down until Valentine's Day rolls around in February. It is a little strange to mark off time by holidays, but it is the image of time projected by the media and society. I know that I'll be working New Year's Eve, so I don't have to make any plans for that event. I know exactly where I'll be and I can probably guess what I will be doing. None of this really bothers me though. I might as well be paid for my time when the new years starts than be lounging around somewhere else. I still haven't launched into a new book just yet, but I decided to order some more from Amazon.com. The new additions should keep me busy for the next month or so. Two of my choices were books that I have been meaning to buy for months, which is very typical of me. Sometimes I will see something and make a mental note to get it at some later date. I have to evaluate something for a certain amount of time before I invest in it.  
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