Somewhere that's Green

A Green Christmas?

I'm not talking about ecology, or global warming; I'm also not talking about green as in money, I'm just talking about the color green. I've spent a week seeing nothing but white. Frankly it's a boring color. White hills, white trees, a monochrome blanket of white across my lawn, driveway and house. I feel like I'm stuck in a photo before color.

When I was a child in San Francisco, I would watch TV like most kids and during the holiday season I would see the endless shows displaying snowy landscapes and wonder about it. What was it like, I would ponder, to get a sled for Christmas instead of a bike? Or did those kids get bikes and sleds? It seemed silly to me to ride a bike in the snow, so I assumed they could get a bike but not get to ride it until springtime. I got to ride my bike right away. Of course they got to ride their sleds so things evened out.

After many eggnog's with extra nog my Grandmother would play the piano, and start to badly sing White Christmas. I clearly remember being around 4 and thinking that snow must be really special because everyone was always singing about it. Dreaming of a White Christmas, asking to "please have snow...; Hear the snow crunch...; Walking in a Winter Wonderland...; (I could go on), so, I reasoned, snow is obviously important to having Christmas. My Christmases began feeling incomplete, as though I was being cheated out of such an intricate part of the holiday.

Only the Rudolph song gave me hope, because it specifically mentioned fog. Now fog was something I knew about. I understood fog. I had seen fog cover my house most days and nights in a blanket so damp it would make the power lines crackle. I was comforted by fog. I also understood it could be dangerous, many a day I couldn't see the house across the street from me, and headlights would just cause light to bounce around. That was the tricky thing about driving in fog, you were better off not using headlights, because they would limit your ability to see. However without them, you were greatly diminishing the ability of others on the road from seeing you.

I also understood Rudolph's nose wouldn't be much use to Santa, but whatever; the song was about fog. I know some believe that it was about Rudolph, but without the foggy Christmas Eve, Rudolph with his bright nose would have been sporting a uzi waiting for the other reindeer that picked on him and wouldn't him play their reindeer games to return. A bloodbath would have occurred with Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen's guts sprayed all over the north pole, thereby cancelling Christmas forever. The fog saved Christmas not Rudolph.

But I digress, after a week of seeing nothing but white I'm ready to see green again. I miss it and find now you can keep your snowy landscapes, I'm dreaming of a green Christmas, just like the ones I used to know.

The kids are currently enjoying an extra long winter break, having been off the week before they were officially supposed to be off. I did get most things done but not everything, the rest can wait, I am no longer going to obsess over getting the holiday cards out. If they don't get them until after the holiday, oh well. At least they got one. Between our storms you'll find me cooking and going to the grocery store.


© 2008 Whimsical Ranter
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