“On the back of a cartoon coaster
In the blue TV screen light
I drew a map of Canada
Oh Canada
And your face sketched on it twice…”

-Joni Mitchell – “A Case of You”

I’m really leaning on Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” this holiday season. With Christmas nearly upon us, “A Case of You” has been getting nearly as heavy rotation on the iPod as the more blatantly Christmas-y “River” ahead of our trip to the Old Country this weekend. Many of you may know that I am a first generation American immigrant, the son of Canadians who came to the States in the 1970’s looking for options. Ironically enough, I may be a last generation American as well – having left the States in the 2000’s.

Most of my extended family still leaves north of the border, a number of them in Timmins – one of the northernmost outposts in Ontario. And this Christmas, we’re headed for a family reunion of sorts back to the northern woods. We’re headed across the Atlantic to one of the coldest places I have ever had the misfortune of being in the winter. The glass half full attitude is that we’re almost guaranteed a white Christmas (there’s a lovely coating of snow from what I can see through the Timmins webcam). The glass half empty outlook – the current temperature in Timmins is -15C (about 5F).

Despite the cold, I’m looking forward to our Christmas in Canada. It will be time with family that I rarely see these days at a place that is filled with fond memories. It’s the getting there and back that fills me with dread. I’ve always looked at harried families with young kids and all the accoutrements with mixture of pity and superciliousness. Well, if you see me on the way to Canada – spare me those looks. Any tips from folks that have traveled on long haul flights with an infant would be gratefully received. I’m particularly worried about the ascent and descent.

Oxford’s a wonderful place to be in the lead up for Christmas – a mixture of the beautiful (Magdalen’s Christmas Tree) and the macabre (the market butchers). It’s a beautiful place to wander in a festive mood. But in the past week I’ve been reminded a few times about the darker side of Christmas. I ran into a friend of mine earlier in the week – a woman just on the back side of middle aged – walking down Cornmarket. As I approached her I saw that she was in tears. I stood and talked to her for a quarter of an hour or so and let her spew her frustration with the holiday season and her loneliness. She did so with a vigor that attracted the curiosity of a number of passers-by. Another friend I ran into as he was escaping our work Christmas party. He was finding the carols and the mulled wine and the jollity all a bit much and needed to escape to a quiet place. A third friend phoned me after his work Christmas lunch left him feeling self-destructive . The thing is that these are normally pretty sane folks, there’s just something about the holiday season that can really drive people around the bend. I guess it’s probably a combination of the crowds, the commercialism, time with family and that ersatz festive feeling that is thrust upon us. I can certainly relate as I’m usually one of the people that responds this way to the holidays.

In comparison with my friends, though, this holiday season has been a piece of cake for me. Christmas is for children and now that I’ve got one of my own, I’m finding it easier to drum up some holiday spirit. Of course, you may not want to talk to me after a trip through the world’s busiest airport with an infant on what is sure to be an overcrowded Air Canada plane to the… well butthole of northern Ontario. But today the holiday spirit is flowing warmly through my veins. Today.

I’ve been collecting Christmas tunes this season – in anticipation of Christmases future when Z may enjoy a good cheeky Christmas tune. With the holiday season upon us, I’m in a sharing mood, so in addition to Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” here’s my Christmas survival playlist:

This will be one of the last posts that I do before the new year – so happy holidays to all my readers!

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