This is my December

2007 has not been a normal year for me, in any stretch; and the weather so far this month has mirrored that perfectly. On the first day, there was snow and lots of it. Too bad it didn't stick and by the end of the evening, it gave way to the torrential rains that you probably have heard about. Then came the wind, and they coupled to create quite the monsoon that lasted for most of the week. Then came the blessed sun and one can only hope and pray that it sticks around long enough for the state to dry out.

But I'm not here to talk about the weather. As odd as it has been, I have absolutely no control over it. I can only endure, and hope for the best. It's just one more storm in my life. Quite literally.

No, I am here to talk about the Christmas season. Ever since my Dad passed away, the holidays have lost their touch; there's been no magic to them at all. I have only meandered through them, putting on a happy face while feeling nothing inside. The lone exception was last year. Last year I got a spark back. There was a twinkle in my eye again. I was able to actually get back into the spirit of Christmas.

Why? For one very, very good reason. Someone came back into my life. Someone who I hadn't seen or spoken to since high school. She came back into my life and we were hanging out together. There's this little bar that we used to go to all the time and just hang out and have fun. Mind you, we would only drink water, but there was karaoke, which is a blast. I'm not normally someone who would participate, but she gave me the confidence I needed to get up there and sing my heart out. It helps that she thinks I sing well.

That someone is still in my life. This is one of the few reasons, despite it all, I'm actually once again looking forward to Christmas. By despite it all, I have a few major things that are getting in my way.

Number one, is money. I had a very large bill almost wipe out my last paycheck and I won't have another paycheck until the middle of the month. This brings about the second problem: time. My work schedule is all over the map, which makes not only shopping a bit of a problem, but also slims down drastically any chance I have to spend time with those that I care about. The third is just how unpredictable my life is right now. Obviously, this has much to do with the previous two.

The best solution I have come up with is that I throughly plan on doing all my Christmas shopping done on one day. I've done it in the past, so I know that it's possible. I just have to make sure that it's early enough in the month so I can send off a certain package to Texas, but late enough so I actually have money so I can go shopping. This alone would alleviate much of the stress that I'm feeling right now. After all, if I do all my shopping on one day, this frees up my time as well. Although I would like to point out that I have actually started some of my Christmas shopping. So, technically speaking, I'm not doing it ALL on one day. But whatever.

Yes, I am going to make the most out of this Christmas season. Time is short, so I'm going to put my all into it. All that matters is that I am able to make someone very happy.

This will be a busy month for me, but I will post again before the new year. By the way, I would like to point out that my next post will be my 100th.