’Twas a few weeks before Christmas and all through this house
the most action forthcoming came from the computer mouse.
We flicked it and moved it, banged it and pushed it back and forth
trying with diligence to prepare a family letter, and another to send north.
With postal workers taking a break and courier costs too high to contemplate,
it was like being stranded on a desert isle, with no chance of keeping the date.
With gifts still to buy and entertainment plans to make and delete,
it seemed like this 2024 Christmas would be a season of defeat.
But wait just a minute, this pioneer stock came through in the end,
and we figured out how much to buy and how much we could spend.
Gifts will be wrapped and when relatives travel, their luggage will grow
to include boxes for family, but please don’t leave them in the snow.
We learned about parties and events via e-mail and some by telephone,
and we wore silly sweaters and antlers we should have left at home.
Friends were greeted and stories of the past 12 months exchanged,
while munching on cookies and tarts, no one thinking of pounds being gained.
We rummaged through mounds of frozen fowl looking for individual parts,
like turkey necks, and thighs, some legs and even the hearts.
Hands lingered on a duck or a tiny hen but the price tag frightened us away,
meaning it could be beef or pork or sardines on the looming festive day.
Now listen just a minute: are those footsteps I hear running across the roof?
Yes, it is pesky squirrels and not the presence of a reindeer’s tiny hooves.
Christmas is close and there’s still so much to prepare and to do,
but wishes will be shared with you and with you and with you.
Merry Christmas to everyone; hope the new year will be pleasin’.
Be kind, be happy, and don’t forget the real reason for the season.
***
My so-called poetry will never be considered for a red ribbon, but each year it is challenging fun to come up with rhyming information to encapsulate the weeks before Christmas.
Despite the lack of poetic prowess, my wishes for a Merry Christmas are sincere and offered with thankfulness that we have family and good friends in our lives who share our trials, tribulations and successful endeavours.
Before the season ends, we will travel the city to see the many homes that have been decorated with thousands of lights and Christmas scenes. What imagination and dedication goes into these yearly displays. A trip through the lighted wonderland of Wakamow is also on our list of things to do.
In my favourite Hallmark movies, there is usually an ice-skating scene or a busy toboggan hill. Oh, how I wish those activities were also on our holiday to-experience list. I fear they are now only spectator sports viewed from a safe distance. Broken bones might result if we indulge in childish fantasies.
And so, as Tiny Tim would say, “God bless us, every one.”
Joyce Walter can be reached at [email protected]
