d ROBERT ’ S WORLD
How Can It Be the Holidays Already ?
BY ROBERT SMYTH
Staying more “ Season ’ s greetings ” than “ Bah humbug ” gets a little bit harder every year , but I ’ m working on it .
Well , here they are again , the holidays . A time when all the world comes together in food and song , and warm tidings are administered . But is it just me or does it seem like last Christmas was just last week ?
When I was young , it felt like forever before the holidays would get here . The period from Halloween to Christmas was excruciatingly long and once it got here , it was all just magical and wholesome . Of course , I wasn ’ t paying for anything back then . Now it seems like I ’ m paying for everything and there ’ s always something new on the list of things I have to shell out for each year .
I think that after a certain age , the things you ’ re responsible for should be someone else ’ s problems for the holidays . After 60 , you should be able to assign all your bills and obligations to other , younger family members or friends , and that can be their gift to you . They get socks , and you get your property taxes paid . It ’ s a win-win in my book .
Maybe I ’ m being a little hard on the holidays . It ’ s just that as I get older , they seem to get here so early and slip by so fast . You might as well put up your Christmas decorations in September , because before you know it , it ’ s time for them to come down and tax season is staring you in the face . You ’ ve got to admire the people who ’ ve gotten smart about it and bought those giant skeletons from Home Depot that they just leave up in their yard all year long and put different outfits on them depending on whatever holiday is next . The Easter skeleton is one of my favorites .
Back in the day , I briefly worked for Lowe ’ s , unloading delivery trucks . We ’ d spend two weeks off-loading every Christmas decoration you can imagine , and all I could think about was where in the
38 | NW GEORGIA LIVING NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2024
“ As I get older , the holidays seem to get here so early and slip by so fast .”
heck people are going to put all this stuff when the holidays are over . I throw things away every year and still have an outbuilding full of lights and things I don ’ t even put out .
I guess as I get older , the pressures of making it a better holiday than it was last year just gets to me . The family gathering has to be better , the presents have to be better , the decorations have to be better , and the food has to be better . I remember when my family would get excited about simply gathering around the TV to watch Frosty , Rudolph , Charlie Brown , and other holiday specials . These days , they ’ re on like 100 times during the holidays , and I find myself sitting alone , watching cartoons , eating Christmas cookies , and trying not to be sad . Then I think , hold on , I have a wife who loves me , kids who tolerate me , a mom and dad who are always there for me , and loving and supportive friends . Maybe that ’ s what I should focus on this season . Sure , they all have Christmas lists and unattainable goals of holiday cheer , but they also stayed with me another year with only a few complaints , so maybe that ’ s not so bad . So this year , I have a suggestion . Let ’ s for a moment try and forget all the parties , presents , and other obligations we have this season and think about how really lucky we are . We woke up today . We ate a meal today . We are loved . We ( hopefully ) tried our best to be a good person , and our existence ( hopefully ) makes someone else ’ s life better . Let ’ s try to carry this in your hearts this season as we contemplate which holiday outfit we ’ re going to put on our 20-foot skeleton decorating the front yard .