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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Holiday Greetings From Up North



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:

Dawn said...

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.

P. J. Grath said...

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!

Mary Pellerito said...

I spent Christmas day cooking, breaking bread with family, and reading. A perfectly lovely day.

P. J. Grath said...

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.