Holiday Music and Gift Alternatives

Take note of the date. Everybody knew it was coming.
Christmas is in 32 days and, in case anyone forgets, it is in fact a one day holiday. (I will allow the inclusion of Christmas Eve, if we must. So, 2 day holiday.)
I heard Christmas music in a store, likely Walmart, weeks ago.
Why do the stores do this absurd musical practice in early November? Because it makes you buy things. I think we all get a little caught up in things and November becomes a very sneaky month. But then you're in Walmart...and what's that....Santa Claus is Coming to Town? Is he?? Already? But it's still 75 degrees outside! Must. Buy. Presents. Now.
It has nothing to do with holiday spirit of any sort so don't you dare let them fool you in to believing in that nonsense.

Of course there are all the other issues that come along with this:
-Christmas is a commercial holiday that makes many a Scrooge filthy stinking rich.
-People spend beyond their means out of a sense of obligation.
-Those that are not Christian technically aren't celebrating "CHRISTmas." Keep the Christ in Christmas...I agree. Santa is related to him how? Cousins? I don't know. If you are a Christian please read up and see if you can't celebrate the holiday as it should be celebrated, in honor of that guy you like. I'm not anti-Christmas, I just don't celebrate that particular holiday. Send me any wish you like, just don't assume you'll necessarily get the same wish back.

Don't buy your 9 year old an Xbox, please. Instead, why not take them shopping for a food basket for families who are not able to provide as well for themselves in this time of distress.
Show them that once a year maybe it's ok to use a pencil and paper to write their grandparents a letter, what more would they ever ask for?
Find a book about how other people in the world celebrate their equally important and relevant holidays.
If it's possible to disgust your so-called Lord and Savior, I'm pretty sure Christmas is the way to do so.
I like presents as well as the next chick; I do give gifts to celebrate solstice because I enjoy finding things for my friends and family and it's a convenient time to do so, but I don't need the calendar to know when I want to give someone something. I actually had to go look up what day Christmas is on. I can never remember.
-Do you know of a time of year where people are more stressed out for a longer period of time for completely avoidable reasons? Neither do I.

However...
It sometimes reminds people that there's more love in the world than there seems. Even with all the greed, commercialization, violence, poverty, distrust, dishonesty, politics, hatefulness, and everything else that's wrong with this country and this world, there are great acts of kindness that appear around Christmas.

****I strongly encourage you to encourage your family to adopt this version of holiday gift giving.
***Find an organization which you feel is important (and preferably reputable) and, instead of buying a THING from China to give to your loved ones, give a much needed donation in their name.
***Find a local organization, Humane Society, shelter, etc. They often have a wishlist on their website of things they are constantly in need of. Fill a box and drop it off.
***Every year I adopt a soldier (from A Soldier's Wish List organization) and instead of buying presents for the majority of my family I go out and fill a Flat-rate box to a dangerously full level and send it off, usually to Iraq. They give you suggestions of things to send the the soldier you are assigned usually has a short list of things they'd like.
***Check out Heifer and Oxfam. If you donate a goat, get a little goat toy to send along with your donation card.
***Gift+donation, buy jewelry and crafts from organizations that are teaching (usually) women a skill.
***For the little ones it's harder not to get "real" presents (I still give gifts to my cousins) but perhaps in addition to a gift take them to choose a card off of the tree in the mall of wherever yours may be and have them help pick out a toy for the kids who might not get anything else. Kids usually like shopping for toys even if they are giving them away. I recieved gifts because of that when I was a kid. I remember getting a Sebastian toy...the lobster from the Little Mermaid.

Yes I will still give gifts to certain friends and my mommy and a handful of people who I really like buying stuff for and this season simply gives me an excuse, but please consider alternatives when going out to spend your hard earned money. If nothing else, take the logical approach...would you rather use your money on something that will become trash or something that will make a difference to someone. Seems easy to figure out. Gift giving is about being thoughtful, and though some people give much needed, desired, and cherished gifts, people will also appreciate you putting some thought in to what might be important to them and donating to it. And if they aren't, well, they don't really deserve your time and presents anyway do they?

My original intention was to explain why I, the heathonish non-Christmasy person that I am, love Christmas music. (Generally the classics, and sometimes a nice pop rendition of something.) I've been known to listen to Christmas music for weeks in August.
I just figured it out today...
It's because I know all the words.

Life is a Pie

I thought of this while watching the clock not move at my desk of doom in the building of death...

Life is a pie. Here is why...(Maybe I should have made all of this rhyme.)

In your life you have a pan. A pan is solid, holds everything else together, and can withstand the heat. The pan is your family (whether biological or chosen), your values, your beliefs, your base, life's structure. Right and wrong, dark and light, left and right. The pan is more absolute than the other elements of the pie might be.

In your life you have crust. Crust is crumbly, flakey, sometimes your favorite part, sometimes not even necessary, it surrounds you but without the pan it doesn't hold anything together. It could be warm, it could be cold, it could be graham cracker, it could be pastry, it could have those little ridges and criss-crossy bits, or none at all.
The crust is your fun times, your party friends who come and go, your misadventures, your youthful foolishness, your flings and fails. These things maybe you shouldn't have done in the first place and would definitely do again.

In your life you have filling. Filling is what MAKES the pie. You choose what kind you want and you dump it in there. The filling is what you find to make life the best it can be, with flavor. It's your soulmates, your joys, your talents, your gleeful obsessions, your memories, your friends and loves.

Some of the things you'd find in the KJ pie of life would be...snuggling my dog (yes she's dead, but the past is still relevant to the filling), baseball, scary movies, chats with my cousins about why I'm not married and why grammar is important, playing with kittens, living with my roommates, being able to see the sky, my favorite books, all the nonsensical quotes in my head, artists I admire, my birthday parties, my sisterly chats with Katie, my brilliant idea chats with Lindsay, stuffing my face with my favorite treats, shopping for crap no one needs, shopping for crap for people I don't know, songs that will always be stuck in my head, foreigners, projects I never think are good enough, finishing my dishes, watching Letterman while grandpa Harold sleeps through it, peanut butter toast that tastes magical only if made in grandma Doris's kitchen, convertible rides with grandma Jessie, telling jokes with grandpa Tom, singing and dancing to Animal House with Taush, wearing feathers for any reason, shopping with mom, and large sections of Frank Sinatra...just to give you a small sample of the filling I have in the pie so far.

There's a lot of room left. Don't grab a fork just yet.