December Musings

December. The last month of the year. Each year the onset of December, does things to me. I am a Leo who likes to see the world through rose-tinted glasses. A Leo, who is very passionate about her likes and dislikes. A Leo, who holds onto memories - Good, bad and the worst.

Having been brought up on a staple diet of Enid Blytons, and a lot of Russian, British and American books, December is winter. December is a nip in the air. December is the warmth of a hearth. December is the warmth in the heart. The maple leaves floating down from the trees. December is the time to be surrounded by loved ones. A cosy home. With heavy dark wooden furniture. Potted plants on the window sills. Lacy curtains . Furniture furnished with bright floral prints. Warm wooden flooring. Bright flowers in a vase. A heavy table lamp near the bedside. A patchwork quilt on the bed. A thick rug on the floor. A happy contented family. And yes, a dog too.

December is celebrated by the TV channels too. Star Movies and HBO. Mushy movies like 'While you were sleeping'. When I saw that movie I too longed for that glass ball, which is given a good shake, and snowflakes fall on the city of Florence

All the Santa Claus movies. Movies where folks find true love, are reunited. Movies of hope and cheer.

I also remember my favourite story book - '70 Stories for Young Readers' - a collection of stories by Reader's Digest. It has several stories which recreate the Christmas mood in the midst of our tropical summer.

December also brings forth one more ritual. Going through my diary. The one I started writing from the December of 1989. It has random entries. Sometimes just one a year. And yes, that one too was made in the December of that year. It has suitably aged. Yellowed. Actually I started maintaining a diary, because this diary was one which had a pale linen cloth cover. It is more like pale white jute. The pages too are of hand made paper. mmmmmmm...................

I read the entries. And relive those days. It has entries of silly incidents, of major ones, of heart breaks, of new found love. And I am young once again. I get to roam through the rooms of my father's house, sit in his favourite chair, hum the songs I sung then, hear my mom's chidings.

Entries i made when i was at my first job. Making new friends, my infatuations. Silly tiffs. My awards, My love. My marriage. My new family. Some heart ache. and then some more 'December' entries - thanking the year gone by, for the new experiences and the new maturity it gave me.

I love December . I wait for it. To brood on things that didn't happen. To laugh at some that did happen. To cry for some that could have happened. Shed tears of gratitude, tears of longing. and most of all Tears of Happiness.

December makes me feel like a giggling teenager, like a twenty year old freshie, like a woman in love.

With loads of love and gratitude - Bye Bye December! Look forward to seeing you again next year!!