Christmas | Jerry S. Lambert

The Fast and Furious Holidays

Ready or Not, Here They Come!

As far as Halloweens go, it was a good one. There was a downpour in the morning, but by four o’clock the sun was out and the temperature had climbed all the way up to 57. By the time the ghouls and goblins hit the streets, it was a comfortable 48 degrees. A perfect night for the annual spooktacular. As usual, my wife went into candy panic within the first fifteen minutes. She’s always worried we’ll have too much candy and too few kids. Then we’ll be stuck with Snickers, M&Ms, and Baby Ruths until New Years’ Day. Not a problem this year though. The trick or treaters came out in force, and it was a great night all around. Even my jack-o-lanterns turned out well and got plenty of compliments.

The day after Halloween signals the unofficial start of the holiday season. It’s only November 1st and you’re already behind on everything! Who’s coming for Thanksgiving? How big of a turkey do you need? Is anyone vegetarian? What about gluten and peanut allergies? Do we have enough chairs? Don’t forget the pumpkin pie! You know the drill. November 1st fires up a feeling of panic that screams, “You are already so far behind, you’ll never catch up!” Your house will soon be filled with the smell of roasting turkey and stuffing. Plus, way too many dinner guests.

Then comes the Grand Poobah of holidays, Christmas! Followed a week later by New Years’ Day and nonstop football. I don’t want to throw you into a full-blown panic, but as of today, November 8th, there are only 46 days until Christmas Eve! Yikes! The experts all tell us to take it one holiday at a time. Keep in mind that Christmas is the elephant in the room, but don’t shortchange your family at Thanksgiving. Take a minute to figure out where everyone is going to sit. Make sure to keep the Democrats and Republicans at opposite ends of the table. Once you’re all ready for the Thanksgiving meal, take a deep, cleansing breath and give thanks. Then set your sights on the Grand Poobah.

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Being Ebenezer Scrooge

It’s Not Easy Being Scrooge

Hello, and welcome back to The Brown Parachute Club. I know it’s been about 6 months since my last posting. As I mentioned in my last blog, I am working at Global Discovery Vacations. Despite a somewhat rocky start, I appear to be hitting my stride (I hope). The world of sales is very odd, to say the least. But, I am not writing about that today.

Last year, I posted an article called, Being George Bailey. I think it was one of the better ones I have written. You may want to go back and read it before continuing on with this post. The two articles are joined at the hip, as it were, and reading the first will definitely give you an idea of where I am going with this one.

Anyway, as I usually do at this time of year, I like to read (or listen to) two books. The first is Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. The second is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The first is a great story about what would happen if you decided to just forgo all the madness surrounding the Christmas Season and just, “Skip it”.

The movie, Christmas with the Kranks, stars Tim Allen (a proud Michigander and the voice of the Pure Michigan commercials), and Jamie Lee Curtis. Given that her dad was Tony Curtis and her mom was Janet Leigh, I’m guessing she’s from California. The movie is a hoot and I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it.

A Christmas Carol has had many movie adaptations. I am partial to the musical Scrooge (1970), starring Albert Finney. He was a major cranky pants in that version and did an excellent job of portraying the transformation Scrooge undergoes. From a selfish, crusty curmudgeon, to a giving, charitable man who has found the true meaning of Christmas, and lives it every day.

Over the past few years, I have made a concerted effort to become more like the reborn Scrooge (or Scrooge 2.0 for my nerdy friends) and less like Mr. Cranky Pants. I think we all need to make that effort, and NOT just at Christmastime.

It’s easy to be charitable and forgiving during the Christmas season. But how about when it’s July, and some S.O.B. has just stolen your parking spot at Meijer. Plus you are already late for your nephew’s birthday party! Still feeling the love?

I wanted to do a brief analysis of Scrooge and how he managed to make an “overnight transformation”. For most of us, this sort of transformation can take years, if we have the persistence to keep at it. There are several moments that happen in the story that are crucial to the transformation of Scrooge’s character.

The Caroler / Lonely at School: We see the first chink in Scrooge’s armor when he shows remorse for threatening a young caroler with physical harm. This occurs when he sees his younger self, left alone at school over the Christmas holidays. He even goes so far to say, “I should like to have given him something; that’s all.” This is a major admission for Scrooge. To part with money voluntarily is like cutting off a limb for Scrooge!

Little Fan / Fred’s Visit: During this same trip down memory lane, Scrooge sees his younger sister, Fan, come to rescue him from the school. The Spirit of Christmas Past comments that she had children. Scrooge points out that she had one child, his nephew Fred, who he treats with contempt every year when he comes by to invite him to Christmas Dinner. This realization hits Scrooge hard because he realizes by berating Fred, he is treating his deceased little sister’s only child horribly.

Fear of Being Poor / Fiancée Dumping Him: We see Scrooge falling in love, only to see his love for the unnamed fiancée become replaced by his drive for money. Apparently at all cost. He convinces himself he is doing it for both of them, but eventually, she falls away and he becomes consumed by greed. When she drops her engagement ring on the scale, she tells him that she weighs very little compared to his pursuit of wealth. This brings a tear to the eye of Old Scrooge and he begs the Spirit of Christmas Past to take him away.

Treatment of Bob / Tiny Tim: We see early on how Scrooge mistreats Bob Cratchit as well. It’s not until the Spirit of Christmas Present shows Scrooge Bob’s family, specifically Tiny Tim, that it occurs to Scrooge that Bob just might be due for a raise. Scrooge’s concern over the welfare of Tiny Tim shows further cracks in the wall he has put up between himself and society.

Christmas Future / Fear of Hell: Scrooge’s final visitor, the Spirit of Christmas Future, shows him that not only will he not be missed, but many people may actually celebrate his death. The scene in Scrooge the Musical illustrates this with a rousing dance number and the song, “Thank You Very Much!” A classic. His trip to the graveyard and seeing “Ebenezer Scrooge” on the tombstone shakes him up. Plus, remembering what Marley said about the chains Scrooge himself carried, makes him terrified of going to Hell. The thought of lugging those chains around for eternity is too much for him to bear.

Being able to view these past events from a third person perspective really allows Scrooge to see where his life went off the rails. If asked on Christmas Eve before the visitation by Jacob Marley, he would have considered himself a successful and prosperous businessman. On Christmas Day, he awakens realizing what a selfish fool he’s been and is determined to take a different path.

So at this time of year, but really all year, let’s endeavor to give the other person the benefit of the doubt. That jerk who cut you off may have just been fired from a job of 25 years (like someone else I know). Or, there may be a sick child at home who is occupying all of his attention.

I know your first reaction is to flip him the bird and string together some colorful adjectives about what you would like to see happen to him, but please keep in mind what he may be going through. Or, maybe he’s just a jerk. Either way, don’t let it steal your Christmas Spirit if you’re lucky enough to have captured it! Please keep in mind that the type of transformation Scrooge went through rarely happens overnight. It may take many years of hard work before your transformation takes place. However, I’m sure it will be worth it. Still working on mine!

I won’t be so cheesy to quote Tiny Tim’s famous last line. However, I will quote a line from the story that has always stuck with me. “He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the old city ever knew.” This Christmas, as well as every day, let that be your guide and you will truly be embracing the Christmas Spirit (all three of them as a matter of fact) every day of the year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

If you like what you’re reading on TBPC, please leave a comment and share the website with your friends. Also, if you would like to be notified of new posts to this blog, please click on the “Follow” button in the lower right corner. Until next week, may your parachute fully deploy, and may you have a soft landing!

Organized Home

Start The New Year Organized!

Hello and welcome back to The Brown Parachute Club. Since this is the time of year when people start to think about getting organized, I thought this would be a good time to talk to you about a website I discovered a few years ago. The name of the website is Organized Home. I discovered this website while looking for a Christmas Countdown Checklist. The website had a countdown checklist and so much more.

The website is the brainchild of Cynthia Ewer. According to her Pinterest page, she has been “Helping folks get organized online since 1995”. That’s quite a track record in my book. I have always considered myself a pretty organized person, but I’ve got nothing on this lady.

Her website is broken down into seven different categories. I’ll cover each one individually. Plus, two bonus categories that are just priceless, Organized Christmas & Christmas Countdown Checklist.

Clean House: I know what you’re thinking, yuck. However she breaks it down by season, so it seems much more logical, at least to me. She even goes into getting your kids or grandkids involved. Plus, how to tackle cleaning out the refrigerator. Yuck, again!

Cut Clutter: This is something we all need to learn how to do. It covers everything from de-cluttering your closet, holiday clutter, room-by-room, creating a storage plan and much more. I know at our house, any flat surface can become “Clutter-Central”.

Getting Organized: Seems redundant to me, but whatever. Anyway, this is an excellent area that has articles on starting the New Year organized, kids rooms, yard sales, getting organized on a budget, moving, paper management (Thank God!), plus a lot more.

Kitchen Tips: Boy, do I need this one! This area covers all things kitchen. Party planning, setting up and organizing a pantry, menu planning, school lunches, organizing your refrigerator, and much more.

Family Ties: This section mainly deals with preparing for back-to-school and the routine of getting your kids out the door, fully prepared to take on the day. Since my sons are 27 and 24, this is not an issue for me anymore. However, some of you may be in charge of getting your grandkids moving in the morning. Lots of good advice here.

Seasonal Spin: This area groups together many of the previous articles by season. It’s easy to see all of the articles about New Year organization, spring cleaning, daylight savings time, back-to-school, family vacations and so on.

Printables: This category has calendars, meal planners, events and travel, health and safety, crafts and hobbies and so on. Each section has multiple documents that can be printed out and added to your to-do list. An excellent resource.

And last, but by no means least, Organized Christmas and Christmas Countdown Checklist! These sections are so big, they have their own websites. These are indispensable tools in preparing for Christmas. This past Christmas, I resolved to dig into the Organized Christmas website and implement the Christmas Countdown. There are so many terrific ideas and articles, it can become a little overwhelming. Tabs on the website include Christmas Countdown, Holiday Plans, Simplify Your Holidays, Gifts / Crafts, and (even more) Printables.

By following the Countdown Checklist, I was able to complete the majority of my Christmas Planning early and I enjoyed a RELAXED Christmas. I know what you’re thinking, “There is no such thing!” I beg to differ!

There are 2 Christmas Countdown plans. Regular and Crazy! Regular (Organized Christmas) starts on October 23^rd and finishes up well before Christmas, so you can actually ENJOY the holiday, which is the whole point! Crazy is the Christmas Countdown Checklist. This one starts on September 15^th! I told you, CRAZY!! However, Christmas Eve is at our house this year, so I plan on going with CRAZY. 101 Days to Christmas has a Daily Message Index and Christmas Planner. I’ll wait until after Halloween to put up my Christmas Lights, I promise!

Unfortunately, I recently read that Cynthia Ewer is retiring from running the websites. Hopefully, she will hand over the reins to someone who has the same passion for organization that she does! If you want your personal copy of the Organized Home website, get it in book form. Cut The Clutter is available on Amazon. I will definitely be ordering a copy.

I hope this article has inspired you to tackle your own “Mountain of Disorganization”. I know going over these websites in such great detail has inspired me to get my butt into gear! Happy Organizing and De-Cluttering!!!

Being George Bailey

Remembering What’s Important At This Time Of Year

(This is an article I wrote last year on another blog. I thought it was appropriate to repost it. I hope you enjoy it!)

While walking my crazy dog Skittles this morning, I was struck by the character of George Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life”. As I’m sure you know, the character of George Bailey was played by the master of understatement, Jimmy Stewart. What I thought about this morning was that George Bailey was a man who always did the selfless, generous thing, and he resented it.

George throws a couple of “Fits” during the movie. The first one is when he confronts his bride-to-be, Mary. He loves her but realizes that life with her will be the end of many of his goals and dreams. This conflict within him results in a rather rough treatment of Mary before he finally breaks down and confesses his love for her.

George’s initial bad attitude that evening stems from the fact that his brother Harry, who George was counting on to take over the Bailey Brothers Building & Loan, has come home from college with a wife, and a job. That, in addition to an embarrassing conversation with Violet Bick, has gotten him into a foul mood before he stops by to see Mary.

George gives up his dreams for others’ benefit. While this results in George wedding Mary and living an exemplary life, it also increases George’s frustration that he was meant for “Bigger Things”. Mr. Potter catches George in a weak moment and offers him a job as his “Right Hand Man”. George considers the idea for a minute, thinking about the money, travel, and fantastic lifestyle that he and Mary would have if he was working for Potter. Then reality hits him and he realizes that “his ship would come in” but everyone else in Bedford Falls, who depend on him, would be destroyed by Potter. This results in George calling Potter a “Scurvy Spider” as he storms out of his office.

As the years go by, George becomes resigned to the fact that he will never see his big dreams come true. He is happy that God has blessed him with a beautiful wife, and four beautiful children. He isn’t happy with his job at the Building & Loan, but he realizes how important it is to the citizens of Bedford Falls.

Everything comes to a head when Uncle Billy accidentally gives Potter $8,000 that was meant for a bank deposit. Uncle Billy and George retrace his steps but to no avail. Even though Uncle Billy was the one who lost the money, George is facing prison, because he is the Executive Secretary of the Building & Loan. He could have tried to throw Uncle Billy under the bus, but he wouldn’t do it. Instead, after hearing Potter say, “You’re worth more dead than alive!” George loses it when he gets home from work. He yells at Mary and the kids and storms out of the house. Then, George is standing on the bridge contemplating suicide. Why was this happening to him? Hasn’t he been selfless and generous his whole life? This is his reward? Realizing the economic and social catastrophe he was about to inflict on his family, George utters the immortal words, “I wish I’d never been born!”

It is only after this statement, that George sees the positive impact that he has made on the lives of his family and friends. This realization hits home as the whole town shows up to rescue him and Uncle Billy from financial ruin and jail. Up until the moment when George has this epiphany, he still has a massive chip on his shoulder. “Why me, God? I’ve lived a good life, put others needs before my own, why am I being tortured like this?” What George had never realized was that God had a different plan for his life. If he embraced that plan, instead of fighting it his whole life, he would have been a whole lot happier.

I guess for me, what it all comes down to is that George was doing the right thing by living a generous, selfless life, but he was resentful of the life that he could have had. Living your life by putting others needs before your own isn’t just a noble pursuit, it is the key to happiness in your own life. This article is entitled, “Being George Bailey”. Not the George Bailey who feels cheated by life, but the George Bailey who realizes that by putting others needs first, he truly has had “A Wonderful Life”.

This Christmas Season, I resolve to be more like George Bailey. How about you? I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[I am taking off a couple of weeks for the Holidays. My next post will be Monday, January 9.]

If you like what you’re reading on TBPC, please leave a comment and share the website with your friends. Until next week, may your parachute fully deploy, and may you have a soft landing!