There are times when I suspect I only keep a guitar around for these last two months of the year. I get restless come early November. I glance at the corner where its case reposes, and I feel a desire to strum, to pluck, and to bruise the ends of my delicate fingers on its wire strings - all for a little fa-la-la, ho ho ho, or a rambunctious chorus of Feliz Navidad!
Today I found the time. (If you can find the time for something, I always believe that Sunday is the time to find it. Lately, I've been on a losing streak for finding time, but when you keep a sabbath day the minutes seem to pace themselves with your perusal of the paper, your coffee-sipping and your pointless shlumping around in PJs) I unsnapped the guitar case - a merry sound, a sound of anticipation! - and I pulled my guitar on my knee, sat down at the edge of my chair, and warmed her up. Clumsy fingers, clumsy voice, bad timing on my Angels We have Heard and my Feliz Navidad, but then my preschooler was dancing, my toddler's eyes were alight, and my eldest daughter came and sang behind me as my fingers finally remembered my F chord for another round of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Silver Bells.
By the time my finger tips were purple with pressing down the strings and absorbing the shock of my glad strumming, my husband had come and entertained me and my girls with his goofy but energetic dance to Up on the Housetop. After watching our daughters join him in dancing like those happy Peanuts characters, I put the guitar away, snapped the case again. Then I blew on my fingers to lessen the pain of holiday music brilliance. Oh, well - I'll get my calluses back before Christmas. I've got a fair amount of jingle belling, gloria trilling and Feliz Navidading left to do.
Wish I could have been there to join in the merriment!
ReplyDeleteI think you should Gather Together To Ask The Lord's Blessing first. THEN jingle away. But my guitar has so much dust on the case it looks like felt, so I'm no expert.
ReplyDeleteDurlrang, wish you could have come, too. I prefer the way you play Joy to the World.
ReplyDeleteMurr, I stopped by your blog. You're a clever writer. I'm sure you don't care much whether I think you are or not, but I read quite a lot of the stuff you had written there - entertaining if irreverent.
ReplyDeleteI assume you were being sarcastic in your comment. Still, I don't think God would want me to ask his blessing to play the guitar in such a mediocre manner as I do.