'Tis the Season

I’ve never been much for Christmas music but I gotta tell you it’s been making me feel pretty good lately. Not the sappy stuff; that still makes me want to crawl under the table. But the cheery stuff; the stuff that says the year is almost over and a fresh start looms ahead; that stuff has been bringing a smile and a song to my lips. There is something so promising about the prospect of a new year. Never mind that it is really just “the next day”. It has a new title. You have to make a conscious effort to remember how to write out a check. You have to say to yourself, “It is 2010 now.” Anything can happen. Out with the old; in with the new. Nothing could be worse than this year I tell myself. It has to get better. I say that every year! So am I am optimist or an asshole?

I had exciting news today. My whole family is going on vacation together! The trip was on, then off, then on, then off and today it all just fell into place. We all said yes to the dates, the airline agreed, our calendars were clear and I pressed the enter button on the keyboard. Fifteen minutes later I got an offer for work... the day before I’m due to come home! It’s not a total disaster; just a one day overlap of the first vacation I’ve ever taken with my whole family – husband, kids, grandchild, mother, brother – with a little acting job. But still, come on! It’s Murphy’s Law, right? Or that other phrase I so love: “Man plans and God laughs”. Does everything good in life have to come with a sacrifice? I know there are people out there who are able to plan one thing and not have anything else fall apart. Maybe it’s coming. I hope so. And maybe this year. Meanwhile, I’m taking a vacation!