More lifestyle self-tutoring: the tutor reflects on the meaning of marking time according to Christmas.

Last July, I think it was, I happened to notice the date was the 25th. I said to someone, “Only five more months ’til Christmas!”

It’s an innocent joke until the fall. However, by October, when people really start to consider the stage-managing that’s required to bring about a successful Christmas, it’s perhaps more like a warning-bell.

Christmas is easy to love. The decorations are wonderful, and typically everyone is in an elevated mood during December – either because they’re imagining the gifts they’ll get, or because they’re imagining those they’ve yet to find. Either way, people have energy which is infectious.

Christmas cards sneak up on me – they are perhaps best in the mail by Dec. 1, which seems a long way before Christmas. We normally put up the outdoor decorations mid-November, the tree up the first week of December.

During the season, there are many special events to attend. I really like going to them, but each takes an evening, which further reduces time you might have expected. In a family, each person likely has one or two invitations, which can lead to eight nights of revelry, which then aren’t available for shopping, gift-wrapping, and other stage management duties.

I’m not complaining about Christmas; I love the concerts, the baking, the parties, as much as anyone. However, to fully enjoy them, it seems, a person might need to be prepared for Christmas by Dec. 1.

My wife mentioned starting the Christmas cards two weeks ago. It seemed early, but not now.

Cheers,

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.