Looking at Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” you might think being visited by all those Christmas ghosts, while entertaining, is something that could never happen. I say otherwise. While I haven’t been visited by anything like Jacob Marley, I have gotten to know the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-to-Come quite well.
As a child, Christmas Present was a constant companion. Always there to keep me focused on the season. Always pointing out the pretty lights and all the decorations. Always there to keep me focused on ways to snag another of the many cookies and treats mom baked for our drop-in party we always had after the Christmas Eve church service. She would ask just about everyone she would see there to stop over afterward the service for some feasting.
Christmas Present also kept me thinking about all the loot under the tree and the endless possibilities of what Santa would leave along with a plate of cookie crumbs and an empty glass. We never left the big guy a Coca-Cola like they do in the commercials. I think my folks didn’t want him to wake everyone up with all that belching. Understandable. Nor did they want to cause him any bloating. My parents were very considerate people.
Being a father, I know that all children spend quality time with Christmas Present to the point that all the anticipation makes them vibrate. That is why they always look blurry during the days leading up to December 25th.
While Christmas Present just showed up one day on his own, Christmas Yet-to-Come (YTC to those of us in the know) was introduced to me by my parents. This happed somewhere around the age of understanding. That being about five or six since that’s when I became aware of Father Time. That’s one ghost that scares me more and more as I age. He’s always counting the days. Telling me I’m running late. Ugh…such a killjoy!
Christmas YTC was introduced in a subtle way. There was no “I want you to meet someone.” No, YTC slipped quietly into my life through things like “well, maybe you’ll get that for Christmas.” And the classic “have you made your list for Santa yet?” After that he would hang out with me from late September until just after Thanksgiving. That’s when YTC left and Present came to visit, sort of a celebratory tag team. The two of them would put me blurry for weeks. I think that’s why I’m blurry in the pictures of me during my childhood Christmases.
All too soon the late teen years arrived, and the gifts went from toys to things more practical. That’s when the Ghost of Christmas Past began dropping by for the occasional visit. You likely know this one by the name Nostalgia. Christmas is the only season that gives an eighteen-year-old their first opportunity to legitimately say “back in my day.” Even to this day I think back on the year the Johnny Lightening race set was left by Mr. C. WOW! And the first real bike with the banana seat and the sissy bar. He likes me! He really likes me!
That’s when the focus changed of the season changed for me. My parents were retired and on a fixed income, so the Christmas cash was in shorter supply. Meanwhile, my income needed fixing as it always seemed to be broken. Which is when Christmas Past began dropping by more than the other two.
Having to earn my own money also meant more time with Mr. Past. Being in radio, I often worked on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and occasionally both. Those were special times. Playing Christmas music and nibbling cookies mom had sent to keep me and Christmas Past company was a great gift. Talking to people on the phone who called just to wish the radio folk “Merry Christmas” was like getting extra sprinkles on the cookies. Would I have rather been with my family? Yes. But you couldn’t have paid me enough to give it up. The gift of having a chance to be on the air was just like when that bike showed up by the tree: an incredibly special Christmas indeed.
Marriage and children opened the door for Christmas Present to visit often once again. YTC was there a good bit too as Kate and I would think about all the magic that would flow around the seasons ahead of us. At the time we were still young enough to think there would be an endless supply. Of course, we were wrong. Now our children are grown and usually able to make it home for Christmas Day and occasionally spend at least one night on either side of the celebration. Curse you Father Time!
With more days behind me than ahead, I spend less time with Christmas YTC and more with Christmas Past. Christmas Present has almost been shut out. But I think that needs to change. Too often I give up the moment I’m in for one that has passed or is yet to arrive. While both have their place, too often I let them distract me from living in the moment.
So, here’s my wish for all of us.
May we never spend so much time reliving the past or dreaming of the future that we miss opening the gift of the present. That way we can focus on the reason we celebrate the season in the first place.
And that’s a gift we should open every day.
