Christmas is almost upon us, and it reminds me of the Christmas Eve church service I attended years ago. The church had many services available during the day, and it was a stop-by-when-you-wanted kind of service. I do not remember what time slot we attended, but it was so busy that they funneled many of us to the stage where the choir usually sat as an overflow seating area. We were sitting facing all the attendees; it was a little awkward, but it was not a problem. The service progresses, and it is time to stand and sing. We stood up as thousands (or so it seemed) of people stared at us. I realized I had forgotten my glasses, and I could not see the screen with the song lyrics.
The lights. The staring faces. Being packed in and not being able to flee. The music. The cameras. Kids dressed up in uncomfortable clothes.
There was no escape.
I had my own National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation “full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here."
I am not completely inept. I know the words to timeless Christmas songs, but when it comes to the second or third verse of those songs you think you know by heart, you will need lyrics.
There I was, standing on stage in front of a packed church that seated thousands of people, probably being recorded for all eternity or even live-streamed (not sure if streaming was mainstreamed then). I stood there as thousands of people watched me struggle not to fall amongst the tight choir seating, squinting to see the screen and unable to sing songs I should have known. I did the only thing I could to save myself. I mouthed “watermelon” during the songs as I had heard growing up that if someone forgot lyrics, they could just pretend to say that, so it looked like they were singing.
Christmas is a chaotic time of year. If you struggle to balance work, laundry, seasonal parties, gift wrapping, cookie making, and entertaining, just breathe and find your version of mouthing watermelon. Christmas does not have to be perfect to be good. You do not have to perform every task to perfection to be doing a good job in life.
We got a new artificial Christmas tree this year, and we still have the assembly tags on it. It is ok. I do not even see them when I am not wearing my glasses. (See how things work out?)
Do the best you can during this busy holiday season. Even if Christmas is rough for you this year, it can also be good for so many reasons. I hope you cherish those reasons and realize you are doing just fine balancing it all.
I think I will get through this Christmas season just fine, even if I have to mouth “watermelon,” but that is just my view.