I’m reminded of the movie in the 70’s The Pink Panther where Peter Sellers, Inspector Clouseau, nervously scours his apartment anticipating getting attacked by his man servant, Cato, in an effort to keep the Inspector aware and alert. This is like me and my new cat. I am constantly on notice; nervous that he will spring from God knows where in order to inflict major wounds upon my body. This is a battle of wills that I am determined to win; and so is he.*
So the Christmas Season is upon us, and I, once again, am reminded that I am the worst preparer of Christmas of anyone I know. Unlike my sister who asks (I’m serious) on the 4th of July what everyone wants for Christmas this year, I haven’t done really anything to prepare. So … it is what it is. I’m really hyper focused on celebrating a new year. (humbug … perhaps)
So new year resolutions and all - #1 is no appetizers – sounds trivial, but it’s a big deal to me. That’s it for now. My phrase (was a word) is “Embrace YES with grace”. This means that even if someone criticizes me, I have to embrace it gracefully. This is like chewing on tinfoil for me. It’ll be very hard. I remember when I started here a couple of decades ago, there was this really old-school, nice lady in the Meadows – Selma Lee – who epitomized grace and was polite always. She smiled and thanked me gracefully all the time. Wow.
So get your stuff done for Christmas. Enjoy the bracingly cold weather with snow. Sing carols, do the present thing, and drink nog, if so inclined. But I guess, most importantly, embrace whatever season with grace and love because everyone is trying as hard as they can to get through … Merry Christmas.
*I’m reminded of a story about another mean cat I owned. “September 11, 2008 I saw Jona in the hallway today, and we reminded each other of 5 years ago when my cat chased her down the hallway in my house and forced her to hide in my bedroom. Jona was cleaning my house that day, and Cat sat growling on the other side of the door. Cat was 11 at the time, and I was never so proud. I told Jona that she is now 16, and she said “Good, she’s that much closer to death.”
