Good King What's His Name

It's been years since I've had a Christmas tree.

When in retail, there was simply no time to even look for one let alone decorate, light and maintain it. My handmade needlepoint ornaments have been packed away for better than a decade, the memory of walking in on the last tree and discovering it and the ornaments had been raided for chew toys remains vivid. My Christmas spirit was no match for that minor disaster and in good conscience I couldn't blame the dogs or cats for succumbing to the tree's allure and temptation - none of them can manage a stitch so how could they know. I sometimes think about dragging out the boxes of candles and wreaths and wooden Santas, about hanging lights on the eaves or arranging animated reindeer on the front lawn, but the time and effort it would take are more than I have to spare. The only thing I hold dear is the music - each verse of each carol is precious to me - and I start humming them incessantly about this time every year. The simple beauty and spirituality of the Christmas hymns calm and comfort me and I am still surprised to discover that even now I remember all five verses of "Good King Wencelas". As I currently am in the employ of a doctor of podiatry, this bit of memorization is admittedly less useful than say the surgical procedure code for a bunionectomy ( one of the most ridiculous sounding words in the entire language in my opinion, certainly in the top 100 ) but it's fun to sing.

So I think about decorating and always decide maybe next year or the year after. I read what my cousin Linda has written about her tree, the ornaments in particular and how each has a history or a special memory attached, and I think of all the years I needlepointed and cross stitched my heart out. It was a time when I had time - for small luxuries and gift giving and the spirit of the season. Now my Christmas wishes are for sleep, enough money to pay the annual tax bill, one more sitting through of "The Bishop's Wife" and a radio station that plays Christmas music from now until New Year's.