Christmas Present, Past and Future

I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner. I hate it when it approaches at breakneck speed and skids to a stop in front of my doorstep before I'm ready. I'd gladly put off opening presents to be able to let Christmas sneak up on me. Ambush me. Surprise me. But no, it has to get on that downhill racer high up on a mountain top and start whoooshing down on me and I'M NOT READY. I'm not ready for the stores to start putting out their Valentine Candy before Santa reaches the North Pole (come on now, you know they do...they probably pull out all the old Valentines and tutti fruity wrapped candy boxes from years past...I've never seen a day after Valentine's sale, have you? But I've sure bitten into some raunchy candy.) I want the Christmas music playing softly on the radio while I drift off to sleep , the lights on the tree to burn longer, the ornaments to have their day in the sun long enough to make it worth their while. I don't want to have to start taking my decorations down, I seem to have just gotten them up. I want everyone to keep being kind to each other, and dog gone it, before I know it it'll be January and I'll have to start being my naturally bossy self and people won't like me nearly as much as they do during the Yuletide. In fact I'm quite lovable at Christmas. Not so much the rest of the year. Unfortunately, I tend to want things my way. I'm a sort of "my way or the highway" sort of girl, which doesn't make me very popular in most circles. But I'm mellowing with age. I let things slide a bit more than I used to. Laughter has never been a problem with me, but now I'm learning to laugh at myself. It's just that also with age comes the meaning of "time flies". Remember hearing your folks talk about that when you were just a whippersnapper? We couldn't figure out what in the world they were talking about. But now, well now I know. Seems just a few days ago that Kari (my darlin' niece) was worried that she was starting the Christmas Cheer too early...I believe that was back in October...but it seems like yesterday. And here it is, the countdown to Christmas is gaining speed and before you know it, another Christmas Present will step up beside us, another Christmas Past will be behind us and Christmas Future will be beckoning us to hurry and join the fun. Right now I'm just going to enjoy the Christmas Future and watch time fly...that's what time does when you're having fun!