This morning I had the weirdest tune stuck in my head. It was from Psalty’s Christmas Calamity, a record (yes, record!) that we had when the girls were little. The amazingly creative chorus went like this:
Christmas is a time, Christmas is a time, Christmas is a time to love. (repeat)
I don’t remember the words to the verses, but trust me the tune is really lodged in my brain. I can even hear Psalty’s nasal-toned chirpiness and his perky little choristers. (Given the number of times the girls listened to that record, it’s a wonder that the tune has remained dormant in my brain so long.)
Why, oh why, am I being plagued by Psalty? Maybe it has something to do with the little side-trip I took after Julie’s concert Thursday night. Julie’s first teaching position is right around the corner from our first apartment when we got married. After attending her first concert, I couldn’t help but drive by our old apartment. And then I drove by our first house, just a few minutes away. Both places looked so much the same that it put me in a time warp. It was strange to travel through the years and end up home in the log home in the woods.
Christmas is a time for a lot of different things. One of them is nostalgia. Even as we enjoy our traditions and continue to make new ones, pulling out the decorations and listening to the music always brings to mind Christmases past. I often think of my friend Jeanette, gone ten years now this Christmas. We spent many Christmas seasons preparing the family service at church. My Dancing Day CD reminds me of children’s chorus whenever I hear the “Donkey Carol.” My Gerald Finzi CD reminds me of one of my favorite choir concerts. And the music rotation always includes Bryan Rowe’s Advent CD.
A few years ago, when a number of Christmas stockings left our chimney mantle for new family units, I grieved as though Christmas had died. Ok, I got over that. There’s something about our new tradition involving mimosas on Christmas morning that perked me up. And grandchildren.
But I only need so much Christmas perk and Psalty’s melody could very well keep me up all night.
Slightly Off the Grid 
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