The favorite movie of one of my girlhood friends was “Meet Me in St. Louis”
(1955), starring Judy Garland. My friend was so good at “telling” movies that I
couldn’t figure out for years if I’d seen this one myself or just heard the
story from her. We’ve all heard the song, though--“Have Yourself a Merry Little
Christmas,” with music by Ralph Blane and lyrics by Hugh Martin. Anything Judy
Garland ever sung had a poignant quality, don't you think? It was something about the
vulnerability in her eyes and the courage in her voice. But there have been
different versions of the lyrics to this song over the years, and that's interesting, too.
Life isn’t always easy, and a lot of people struggle with pain of one kind of another. Holidays are no exception. What to do about it? To “hang a
shining star upon the highest bough” is one way to defy sadness, but it is a gesture of a moment, whereas to “muddle through somehow,” putting one foot in front of
the other, doing all the little, ordinary things that have to be done day after
day--that is a beautiful and deep kind of bravery.
Wherever you are this year, and whatever you are growing
through, with family or on your own, I wish you at least moments of heart-lightness. And here's your song:
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yuletide gay
Next year all our troubles will be miles away
Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon, we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now
4 comments:
Thanks PJ. It's easier to muddle through with people providing support. Have yourself a merry little Christmas too....love the photo of the barn.
Barn photo was taken on Friday, the 21st of December. The year's shortest day was also one without electricity for most of our county. Lots of snow, too.
Merry little Christmas to you, Dawn!
I spent Christmas day cooking, breaking bread with family, and reading. A perfectly lovely day.
Hi, Mary. Lots of reading here, too. I read to David from a book of geology essays, and he read to me about a couple on a cross-country trip in a converted bus.
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