Blue Christmas

I love Christmas. I look forward to it every year and I can hardly wait to feel the excitement and the joy of the season. This year has been quite the opposite. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to sustain any sort of Christmas spirit. I decorated trees, visited reindeer, listened to music, did the luminaria walk at Green Lake, saw "The Nutcracker", made out Christmas cards, drank eggnog, wore my reindeer antlers, bought and wrapped packages and still . . . nothing. This happens to varying degrees some years but this year I blame Mother Nature.
I know some of you LOVE the snow but it has dampened the holiday spirits of most everyone I know. A little snow was pretty but a week and a half of ice and snow and not feeling like we can drive anywhere is enough. All I want for Christmas is 40 degrees and rain. Glorious, gray Seattle skies and rain. Wash this crap away.
Because of the weather we have cancelled my dad's birthday party twice. I had my traditional Christmas dinner and gift exchange with a good friend cancelled. My mother was to come up for a girl's night at Hotel Ann-Marie -- cancelled. Two different outings with two dear friends -- cancelled. Now there is a very real chance that we will be postponing our Christmas to this weekend because of the weather. UNCLE!!! UNCLE!!!
However, I know that shaking my fist at the sky and complaining won't change things so I am trying to look on the bright side.
I can't get out to visit my friends and family but at least I have wonderful friends and family I want to visit and who want to visit with me.
I can't get to the grocery store to get food for Christmas but at least I have the money to buy the food and am quite clearly not going hungry.
I might have to slog down sidewalks packed with at least four inches of ice but at least I have a good job to go to and really great co-workers.
I can't dump my garbage or recycling and it is piling up in my apartment because the city can't get here to empty our dumpsters but at least I have food, newspapers, magazines and (most importantly) Diet Coke to consume so I that I need the garbage service.
I can't get out to go anywhere but it has allowed me to spend a peaceful few days organizing the apartment, really unwinding and snuggling with the kitties.
I can't ramp up my running like I wanted to when school was over because the sidewalks are far too dangerous but I have my health so that running is even an option for me.
Thinking about this situation in these terms seems to make it a little bit better.
But Santa? 40 degrees and rain please.