For I've Grown a Little Leaner, Grown a Little Colder, Grown a Little Sadder: The Christmas Take-Over

I'm going to do this.

I will enjoy Christmas. And it won't be as easy as it sounds. 

This holiday season finds me lonely, anxious, and just not in a great state of mind. Money is tight. And we're still living in an apartment that's too cramped for even a small Christmas tree.

And more than anything, I find myself actually dreading Christmas morning. I know it sounds crazy, but I used to love working on Christmas day. Waking long before dawn to be with people in need? That brought me more happiness than anyone really knows - certainly more Christmas joy than I think I've ever experienced as an adult.

I'm fortunate to have experienced that. But it kills me to know I won't be there this year, with the people I came to know and love  as my "other family". It certainly isn't my choice.

I have to shake it off, though, for the sake of my family and my own sanity. Because I do love Christmas, and I'll only be more depressed if I allow the holidays to come and go under emotional cloud cover.

And so, I'm introducing the Christmas Take-Over. For the next four weeks, I'll be posting nothing but my favorite Christmas music. Happy songs, sad songs, funny songs.....all of them centering me around a time of year that I'm accustomed to loving. 

I'm counting on this to put me in a better mood, and I hope it does the same for the rare and infrequent visitors who find this blog.

Today, we start with "We Need a Little Christmas," as interpreted by AgesandAges. 

I'll be up front: I have historically detested this song. I loathe the marching goofiness of it, the dopey children's chorus, and most especially of all, the Broadway musical that spawned it (....long a story about that one, which I will not be sharing here).

But I have to admit that AgesandAges nails it. For the first time, an artist strikes an appropriate tone for what this song is actually about: "We Need A Little Christmas" isn't so much about celebrating, it's about seeking distraction from a forlorn existence. 

It's not about powering through the holidays, it's about hiding behind them. And that's something I think I can relate to.

Enjoy.