How are the holidays here so soon? I'm not ready | Suzy Fleming Leonard
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Y'all, seriously. How did this happen?
How did we get from spring break to Christmas carols without even pumping the brakes?
Maybe it's because time crept by for almost two years during the height of the pandemic. It didn't take long for my world of quiet sameness to rev back into go-go-go.
Usually, I'm one of those obnoxious people who brags about finishing my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving and getting my out-of-town gifts in the mail by Black Friday.
This year, I feel disorganized and confused, wondering what day it is and how the heck I've entered the post-Thanksgiving zone with no holiday cards ordered, very few gifts purchased, and no idea what to get the men on my shopping list.
I even switched to Sirius Radio's Holly station on Nov. 15, even though my husband Steve swears it's bad luck, in hopes of stirring some holiday inspiration. It didn't work. Maybe my husband is right.
My neighbor, Jeanette Roach, said she feels the same way. She blames it on Hurricane Nicole. Just as we were getting holiday ready, Nicole popped by and interrupted.
It made me feel better to know she hasn't gotten much shopping done either. Disorganization and confusion loves company.
As the three of us rode home from a Tuesday night workout, two days before Thanksgiving, I tried to get Steve to sing along to the Christmas music playing in my car.
"No," he said. "Not until Friday."
We did get him to join a conversation about favorite Christmas songs. I love "O, Holy Night." Steve likes "Last Christmas," the Wham! version.
Jeanette said she loves "The Little Drummer Boy" because it reminds her of her mother. It annoys her husband Rick, so she turns it off when he's around.
I tend to agree with Rick. There's a monotony to it, like a long, pandemic day.
I do, however, love the "Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy" combo, recorded by Bing Crosby and David Bowie in 1977 on Crosby's Christmas special.
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"Which one is that?" Jeanette asked. I tried to sing it, but couldn't remember the words. Then I glanced down at the radio. The volume was low, in deference to Steve, but it sounded like ... it was! Almost like we'd conjured it. I turned up the sound.
Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum ...
Bowie and Crosby's voices filled the car with effortless harmony.
Every child must be made aware
Every child must be made to care
Care enough for his fellow man
To give all the love that he can
The song ended as we pulled into the driveway.
Live in peace, live in peace again
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
Then he smiled at me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Peace on Earth
Me and my drum
Can it be
I was struck by how relevant those words, sung 45 years ago, are today.
And I was reminded of something. The gifts and the cards and the frenzy aren't the things that matter this time of year.
Peace on Earth. Can it be?
I hope so. Someday.
Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: The holidays are frenzied; one song puts things into perspective
