Anyone that knows me is aware that I love schedules. I like to know what my day will bring and what time it’s happening. Imagine my frustration then when I go to the doctor with a one o’clock appointment and I’m still sitting there at 3:30. However, what can you do? Unless I want to take my medical needs to Granny Hillbilly then we don’t have much choice. If I remember correctly, she treats most things with moonshine anyway. I’m not sure it will cure anything but it’ll sure make you forget about your ailment for a while.

I mention my obsession with schedules because as we have discussed in previous writings, I don’t want to hear the word Christmas or see the first Rudolph stocking until Thanksgiving is done. With that in mind, all things Christmas should disappear after January 1st. However, my neighbor seems to have lost his calendar and his house is still lit up like an airplane runway with flashing red and blue lights around his house that leaves me dizzy from looking at it. The bright red and glowing Santa that is on his roof adds insult to injury and shines in my bedroom window and forces me to have dreams of taking a hit out on Santa Clause. I understand not having the time to take them down but do you have to plug them up?

The next day as I was driving to my job, I saw a homeless man in the park. He wasn’t begging for money. In fact, he seemed as content as he could be as he went about his business. I realized then that being happy is a choice and maybe, just maybe I should forget about my frustration with my neighbor and those horrible Christmas lights and remember my blessings. Later that day, I overheard some colleagues talking about New Year’s resolutions as they were once again lying to themselves about what they are going to change about themselves this year. One woman said she was going to lose some weight while at the same time she was popping chocolate-covered cherries into her mouth as if they were Tic Tacs and another said she was going to be more active as she picked up the phone to have groceries delivered to her house.

The two ladies then looked over at me and asked me what I was going to change this year and they seemed surprised when I answered, “Nothing.” No, I am not going to change anything because I’m pretty happy just the way things are. I told them that when I turn the faucet handle, hot water comes out. There was a time when if I wanted hot water for a bath I had to boil it on the stove. The temperature in my house can go up or down with a simple turn of the dial on the wall. I don’t have to start a fire in a stove where the house is either hotter than the hounds of hell or it’s colder than an igloo in Alaska. I can go to the grocery store and buy whatever I want to eat without a second thought. The days of searching the floorboard of my vehicle looking for loose change to buy a cheeseburger are long gone.

Yes, I have a family that has provided me with tons of wonderful memories and I have more channels on my television than I could ever hope to watch. Life is what you make it and I will refrain from making a bunch of empty promises when I couldn’t possibly ask for anything more. Now, if I just get the flashing Santa Clause off my neighbors’ roof I’ll be golden.