Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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All About the “Stuff”

Gifts can be clutter, but are usually a sign of affection from the givers.

I first noticed the City’s Christmas lights were up on October 7. As you get older, time seems to move faster because one year is not such a big percentage of your life at 40 as it is at 10. So, I don’t really appreciate the rush of the season at all. I’m getting older at a quick enough pace as it is, thank you very much.

When I was 10, Christmas was a very different event. I would voluntarily get up at six in the morning out of pure anticipation. Nothing short of a fire can get me bouncing out of bed at that ungodly hour these days, especially in the depths of winter when there is little hope of warmth or sunshine. For Christmas this year, I want all the naps that I turned my nose up to in my childhood.

Otherwise, there’s nothing that I really need. Gifts are just stuff that I have to find space for and do something with. I have no more space and I don’t want to do anything. I look around at all my stuff and wonder, “what the heck?!” Don’t get me wrong – I have things that I value and things that are useful, but there are a lot of things that are just there, doing nothing.

Like my cats. Good thing I value them – they purr, you see. They don’t understand Christmas as anything other than a day where they can sleep in with their humans. Their main pastime is to sleep on, crawl around, and generally disrupt all the stuff we have. I have to clear a path between my stuff so they can bounce to the highest point and pretend it’s all their stuff. If nothing else, Christmas gives them more stuff to knock off of the counters.

It’s the people who give me the stuff that matter. I have received some silly gifts in my time, but there hasn’t been one that I haven’t appreciated because I appreciate that the person doing the giving wants to express something to me. Looking at some of the ridiculous things I’ve received, I really wonder what they were trying to express, but I settle comfortably into the idea that it was some form of affection. You see, I haven’t received any ticking packages. Yet.

Keri lives in Boyle Street. We hope she has a merry Christmas, and only receives packages that don’t tick. Unless it’s a clock or a watch. Both are practical gifts.

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