Black Friday

We’re almost there.

I sit in the aftermath of my choices.

I am wide awake at 4:00 in the morning likely due to an overabundance of iced tee, tryptophan, and country ham. Also, there was a chocolate pie that blew my mind. It were all good and I ate it.

So, here I am sifting through the sale emails in my inbox and wondering how I will spend the day. Black Friday, the night unto religious observance of America’s Late Capitalism, intrigues me, but the timing is off. All I want to do today is watch television and nap. I’ll be in the mood to shop in a week or two.

Soon, too, there will be a flurry of Santa jokes. They started last night at dinner. The ZZ Top comparisons will come to an end. I love it. I am still looking for a good Santa hat. They are, however, expensive. The professional Santa websites are great, but nothing comes cheaply for Father Christmas. Everyone’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man. In a red suit. Lined with fur of some kind.

The season of Advent is almost upon us. One more weekend and we’ll be in the midst of one of my favorite seasons: the season of longing. I’ll long for absent loved ones. I’ll long for Christmas morning and time with dear friends and family. I’ll long for those and other signs of God’s love. Time will seem enchanted, rife with the holy. I will drink from special coffee mugs and find excuses to bake. I will sing in Latin. I still don’t know why, but I love singing in Latin. I will also read through the Oxford Book of Carols. The Holly and The Ivy is already playing in my head as the three holly trees on our lot begin to bear berries.

At any rate, it is early and I am awake. I will write some more, take my meds, and drink some strong coffee. Later, we’ll have breakfast with my father-in-law at Cracker Barrel. I hope your Black Friday is full of joy and zero regrets from the night previous.

Y’all be excellent to each other.