I used to dread the Christmas season because I live alone and pretty much all of my natural family have left me a long time ago. I do have some very good friends who are like family to me, in fact they tell me that I am part of their family and they treat me as such, which is very cool. But I still have all those memories of Christmas with my YF and my niece and nephews and brothers and it can make me a little blue during the holidays. However, I have come up with an excellent plan to help curb the holiday blues. I have been attending as many Christmas programs as I can. I live in a small community that loves to have neat musical and inspirational holiday programs through-out the season, so it is easy to do. I went to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony this year and passed out programs, drank hot cider, and sang carols. I also attended a couple of music programs put on by the Junior High School and High School bands, including the High School Jazz Band, which was excellent. That was a whole program of music that night, with the 7th graders leading off, followed by the Junior Varsity band, then the Varsity Concert Band, then the Jazz Band. Very cool! It's cool to listen to the younger kids first and know that in a few more years they will be playing as well as their older brothers and sisters in the Varsity Band. And speaking of brothers, there are two brothers playing in those respective bands that I personally know from my church. One is in the Jazz Band...he is 16 and plays the trumpet like a pro. The other is 11 and wants like crazy to be just like his big brother so he is in the Junior High band and is playing the trumpet too. It is all so cool to see...and inspirational too!

Anyway, I was very inspired by all of this music and Christmas cheer (and those two brothers) so I ordered myself an early Christmas present. For years I have been promising myself that I am going to learn harmonica (or "Blues Harp") and now I am really going to do it. So that is what is going to be under my tree this year. A set of diatonic "harps", and an instructional DVD. I figure I have all winter to jam it out and learn how to play, so that is what I am going to do. I know I have inspired a few kids to want to play guitar, but this time a few kids have inspired me to play a wind instrument. HA! Merry Christmas!