July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Not enough hours in the holiday days (11/30/05)

Back in the Saddle

By By JACK RONALD-

Einstein, of course, had it right.

Time is relative.

Anyone who remembers how slowly summer days could pass when you were 10 and how quickly the deadline could pass until your next homework assignment was due knows that.

Anyone over a certain age can assure you that time speeds up as you get older. Years disappear in a heartbeat. That kid who was your paperboy the other day is now your colleague at work, showing you pictures of his children, who look way too much like him.

If you needed any further proof, I offer this: December.

It's upon us this week, and suddenly time becomes constricted. There aren't enough hours in the day. And the calendar becomes something more than just a way to figure out what day it is. It becomes, instead, a matter of logistics.

Now, unless you have been the parent of twins, logistics may not be something you worry much about.

But, in December, it's a part of everyone's reality.

Starting on Thursday, the clock is ticking.

We'll have 24 days to get our act together so we can enjoy the 25th.

When do you put the lights up? Check the calendar.

When's the office Christmas party? Check the calendar.

When are the kids in the pageant at school? Check the calendar.

You know the drill.

At our house, with the twins off living on their own and Sally away at college, you'd think things would be simpler.

But you would be wrong.

It's as crazy as ever.

The lights aren't up, though I hope to get that done the first weekend of the month.

And then there are the holiday dinners, the fancy and the not-so-fancy.

Some of them, we might be able to skip. But some of them are not-skippable.

Friday, if I have this right, is the annual Koffee Klatsch at The News and Sun in Dunkirk; and my presence is required. I'm not sure why, though folks there always seem pleased to see me.

The week after that is the Koffee Klatsch in Portland at Arts Place. If you haven't received an invitation, let me know. I'll see if I can squeeze you in.

The Koffee Klatsch is an event that was launched in the 1950s (no one knows the exact date) as a way of showing the business community how much it is appreciated by the newspaper. These days, it's mostly a matter of maintaining community spirit, tradition, and a sense of hospitality.

(Some say it's the only day I do any real physical labor, since I'll be pouring coffee and carrying trays of doughnuts.)

Along the line, in between shopping for presents, the parties, the photo assignments, the meetings, and the other festivities, I need to elbow in room for the company's annual meeting, the company Christmas party, the completion of a report on my findings in Belarus, and the writing of a Christmas story for my kids.

I wonder if I could borrow a couple of days from February.[[In-content Ad]]
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