Christmas time

 

Whether you're one of those esoteric folks who believe that time is static and we move through it or you believe we're static and time moves through us, you gotta admit it's beyond surreal that Christmas is just around the corner -- again!  

I haven't decided if I am going to get a tree this year or not. I just might. I want its magic. 

Time is mostly just some vague surreality to me, some invisible order I try to outsmart and plot my existence against. Sometimes it can stand so still it feels like some sort of sentence I'm serving and other times I can't help but wonder where it all went.

I have a friend who looks at his watch every few minutes and always needs to know what time it is. He checks and sets my clocks every time he is at my place or in my car. He likes routine and likes knowing well in advance what will happen when. Ironically, he also has a Christmas tree with lights and everything on his porch all year round. When I asked him why he doesn't take it down, he said it would be too time consuming.  

Last time I wore a watch was in first grade. It was a Christmas present from my mother. It made me feel grown up and I loved it when people asked me what time it was -- it felt like I knew something they didn't.  

 

 

Comments

[Barbara]

I have the same feelings about time. It's either standing still, holding me prisoner, or it sneaks past when I'm not looking. The older I get, the sneakier it gets!
I refuse to think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but I understand what your friend is saying. Trees and decorations are time-consuming, but the trick is to realize the process is just as valuable as the result. Part of the magic that makes a tree so special.

[Andi of My Beautiful Adventures]

I'm not religious, but I sure love Christmas time. It truly is a magical time of the year. In this last year I started wearing a watch again and I can't go a day without it now!

[mystafied]

I decided the other day that I want to feel the magic of Christmas as well
and have decided to hunt around for a small dead gum tree
and bring that home and put Christmas lights on it.
I guess it will be a bit like a celebration and appreciation of life

Whatever you do about a tree Agnes.. I hope you have the most beautiful Christmas

Gary xox

[Talli Roland]

Get a tree, get a tree!

I do love Christmas time. And I don't wear a watch either!

[Silver Strands]

I love Christmas - and I agree, there's a certain magic with the Christmas tree, Agnes. And I love what you wrote about time ... I actually think that time creates such crazy feelings within us (some it makes anxious, some can't believe time has passed, etc) because man created time - I don't believe time exists in nature the way we view time. Weird, I know - but it explains my feelings about time :) Have a great week!

[Abraham Lincoln]

Christmas was just like any other day when I was growing up. This made an impression on me and I never forgot the Christmas, my father, a sexual pervert, and my mother, raped at 13 while getting water at the spring in West Virginia and kicked out of home (her mom was already dead and my mother was 13 and pregnant by my grandfather's 2nd wife's brother) never celebrated Christmas. She quit school to take care of Mae, the baby who was born and then her "mommy" (my grandmother) bled to death. So mother was caring for and fixing the meals for the family. Grandpa was a moonshiner and had been in and out of prison for making and selling it out of the house.

Mother fixed a nice dinner for me, my father and my half sister (the result of the rape) and herself. We were finishing up and my father handed me a whole orange. My sister, then about 15, sat on her hands while I took the orange and ate it, without regard to sharing. That was the extent of Christmas and the only time I ever heard the word in our house. I asked her, not that long ago, if she still remembered that day and she said she does.

Christmas used to be something the people who had money celebrated. We didn't so we didn't.

[Loree]

Time sneaks up on me. I don't know where it goes most days and I can't believe the year is almost over. Time is like a crazy wheel spinning out of control.

[Heather Landry]

I'm not feeling very Christmasy this year at all. My dog recently passed away and her birthday is Christmas day. I usually have the tree put up the first weekend in November. We just got some scary news about the health of my four year old and I just don't feel like celebrating at all.

I hope you get your tree though Agnes. You deserve some magic and beauty in your life!

[Bill Friday]

For me, it all comes down to this: " A Charlie Brown Christmas" on TV, tape or DVD. That, and the first time I hear Jose Feliciano sing "Feliz Navidad", either on the radio or on any speaker in any store... and the first egg nog sighting of the season at Trader Joe's. I think that about does it. Merry (early) Christmas, Aggie.

[kate_woods@bigpond.com]

I am not a big fan of Christmas - it entails too much of everything like food, drink, cleaning, entertaining and on and on. Also if it is roasting hot it does not help one little bit and the tree wilts fast !! Wow, I sound such a scrooge !!

[C]

Fall is beautiful. The colors - the reticent chill - the distinct morning air smell - the festivities. Like you said, there's a magic all around that's just waiting to permeate into your walls. Whats not to love?

I love my watches, just as much I love my shoes!

[Ian Stewart]

You don't wear a watch?! How are you going to be on time when we do lunch? :-)

[Jen Daiker]

Christmas is magical. Something I never want to let go... and when it's gone I think I always keep a little bit inside me. After all, you know it'll return.

[linda roth]

Time mostly flies. There were years when it seemed like it was standing still--like I was waiting for something to happen and it was taking its own sweet time. No more. This is it. Nobody needs to watch their minutes fly; they need to make them count.

I recommend getting a tree; trees represent holiday spirit. I don't recommend colored lights though. I like the miniature white lights that twinkle, sparkle and dazzle and make everybody smile. I call them Saks lights because Saks Fifth Avenue NY is where I first saw them. Colored lights remind me of seedy bars in seedy neighborhoods with neon "Open" and "Bud Light" signs in the window and a couple of guys hunched over the bar. They're depressing. They cast an unflattering glow--particularly the blue and green and violet ones. I can't imagine how carolers and party goers would look standing on the porches of houses with blue or green or violet lights. Ghoulish, I think.

[talei loto]

I love Christmas trees, if there's one thing I will always have - its a tree - a real one! Love its scent and the whole decorating ritual! Hope you are well my dear! x

[Theresa H Hall]

Yes ... Go for the whole shebang, tree, decorations, baking and "It's A Wonderful Life" ... because it is. Life and the Magic of the Christmas Season is a gift. Celebrate and if need be, travel north for the snow and reindeer.

[Andy K]

Man I just love reading your posts. So different from those long-winded others out there. ;)

[Rahul]

So nice to know that you don'nt want to look grown up! What a sweet innocent comment..

[aubrey]

hello gorgeous! :) I don't wear a watch either, although I look at them and think I want one..or need one. Truthfully, I hate appointments or anything that locks me into a time frame. I'd rather come and go as I please and let fate take me where it wants. :) I love the magic of Christmas...the christmas markets are open here and I'm ready to celebrate :)

[lauren]

oh YES! DO get a tree!!! and it has to be a *REAL* one, even if it's a tiny, table-top-sitting, charlie brown tree! put waaaaaayyyy too many lights on it, and some very shiny and glittery decorations--the kind that in any other context might well be labeled as "tacky"! (mebbe not glass ones, though, if smokey will have access!!!) trust me, the scent, the twinkle of the lights and the sparkle of the baubles WILL make that magical 5-years-old-&-santa's-coming feeling come back and i think we NEED that once a year! plus you'll ENJOY--and are MOST WORTHY of--reserving the small space of time it will take to choose and decorate for the holiday; that's not a waste of time, imo, it's a crucial INVESTMENT in one's own enjoyment of the season!!! this is yet another case of "process" being ever so much more valuable than "outcome" for sure! and you DESERVE to have the childlike fun of putting up the tree!!!!! ♥♥♥♥♥

[Appu]

Last paragraph - fantastic :-)

[Anastasia]

T.S. Eliot wrote in his "Four Quartets":

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future
And time future contained in time past.
(Burnt Norton I)

I'm an incorrigible Christmas addict and decorate four Christmas trees - two at my workplace and two at home. I used to put up at least six! I don't like natural trees...Cutting down a tree in the woods for Christmas is pretty much like killing an animal to get its fur. Just like I love wearing artificial fur coats, I also love artificial Christmas trees.

[Michael Manning]

Well, I have to admit that the sense of time does feel strange--as you alluded to here. I have neighbors who had string lights out on their balconies for Halloween (orange bulbs, of course). When I was a kid, the Christmas Season officially began the day after Thanksgiving. I discovered your blog via Talli! I think I'll have a look around. Hope your weekend ahead is nice. I have always enjoyed Florida and have traveled the state a lot.

[shalmalee]

Outstanding post! So vague yet so together :) Its your magical writing i guess!

[WarmSunshine]

Does he really let the Christmas stuff stay there all day long :O the logic is funny :D

And I loved your story about your watch and the secret you had from the world. Hehe!

[Nancy]

Oh Agnes...u say things which I think but can never quite put it into words;-o

No pics;-o????

p.s: Ur memory of 1st grade & the watch reminded me of Naina & her 1st watch. She announced the time every minute for around 45 minutes. At 1st it was funny, then not so funny, then irritating & finally something like chinese torture. She just wdnt stop. I took the watch[as soon as I cd] and hid it, the entire family supported me;-D.

[Spuds]

I always feel more comfortable around my esoteric friends than my exclusive friends. Sure the fashion sensibilities run a bit far afield, but the conversations are more exciting.

[Michelle]

I have always loved the warm fuzzy feeling of having a Christmas tree. There is something so magical and comforting about them! Take care :)))

[Neil Killion]

I wear no watch, but I'm always to time. I'm not concerned about the present, because unless you can understand it from the context of the past and the immediate future, it will always seem like a largely uncontrollable, chaotic scene. Then every now and then there's a magic moment and everything changes.

[Thirtyandawesome.blogspot.com]

Ya know, I've never had a Christmas tree in my place since I've been an adult. I never saw the point of a tree that just caused a higher energy bill and I'd have no one to put presents out for. So I'm a dreamer...

[Rider]

It's good to read your posting, Ms. Agnes. Your other postings have been pictures. That's good. Sometimes it's great. Especially when they're pictures of your legs or of your hair lit by the sun.

But it's also good to read your thoughts and to "see" your intelligence. An intelligence that's visible even when you were six years old and wore a watch for the last time.

[Ann]

Giving time serious thought seems to give me that abruptly shaken out of a fog sensation. I wear a watch sometimes but more for the bracelet effect. I only obsess about time when I need to catch a bus, train, and plane or meet a deadline. Other than that time is something that passes whether I pay attention or not.

Christmas trees are magic. Enjoy!

[Aiz]

the irony about time that you shared is a deep wisdom, sometimes I feel i am so ignorant about the extent of time and space and the concept of multiverses..........

have a nice day

[Posie Patchwork]

I absolutely love that thought you had as a 6 year old, knowing something other people don't know, so clever, what a huge realisation. Oh Agnes, you are some amazing girl. I haven't worn a watch since i got a mobile phone with it's very own clock. Love Posie

[gh]

Agnes, I too stopped wearing a watch along time ago. I'm pathologically late for everything anyway. Your static comment is very profound.

[The Napkin Dad]

I am so jealous of all the comments you get, DANG it's a lot! Having said that....Get a tree if for no other reason that your cat will have fun hiding under it and attacking you as you walk by.

[NIM]

hey AGNES.. hope you have a good upcoming Holiday season :D
oh and happy thanksgiving :)

[Arti]

Time is an amazing mystery.. the more we delve into it, the darker it gets.. Loved the post, your words are magical. Wish you a very Happy Christmas time ahead :)

[mystafied]

Happy Thanksgiving Agnes
I hope it's a good day for you !

[Sara Louise]

I think we all could use a little magic this year and I hope your holiday season is extra magical xo

[Amelia]

Hi Agnes, belated happy thanksgiving and advance Merry Christmas!!! as for me I can't live without a watch...i felt i lost track of time if I don't have one in my wrist..

[David Merrill]

To me, time is an illusion created by experiencing through material eyes. I spend way too much time pondering time itself.

I like the way Matthew THORNTON is the last signor of the Declaration of Independence. He arrived in Philidelphia on November 4th, 1776 and asked the Continental Congress if they would mind he sign it late. They did not.

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/2976/approbationtothedeclara.pdf

One fellow in my brain trust in Seattle took his eyes off his 5-year old daughter to buy some veggies at the Farmer's Market and found her holding the original of this poem. She told him a homeless-looking man had handed it to her:

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7508/companioncreator.pdf

There are strong allusions here that time is not at all what most people think it is, if you notice the name of the poem's author.

Regards,

David Merrill.