a christmas musing
It's that time of year. Christmas music is everywhere.
I'm reminded of last year when a coworker mentioned how much he loved the Wham! song, 'Last Christmas'. I told him I was not too fond of it when I was younger.
To give some context to my comment: I loved the song, 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' when I was younger. Not only that, but my favourite version was the Jessica Simpson/Nick Lachey duet. And I fantasized about Nick Jonas and me performing that same song together.
I was naive when I was a child. Clearly, I had no proper grasp of heartbreak. I was too afraid of it to understand it. I sat on my high horse, protected by an unjaded view of love. Thinking how stupid someone could be to give their heart to someone who would only give it away the next day.
Now, I realize how easy it is to choose the wrong person to love. How easy it is to be with someone for a period only to move on quickly.
I've come around to appreciate the song. The vulnerability in the lyrics. The way George Michael whispers "Happy Christmas" as if it's a secret between the two former lovers and not a standard holiday greeting.
How he admits to being a fool because he loved someone who didn't love him back. Yet he still sings, "If you kissed me now, I know you'd fool me again."
There's such a juxtaposition of the heartbreak in the lyrics to the catchy tune George Michael sings. That is what encapsulates the song best. It's the reminiscence of past heartbreak with the hope of finding love again.
My former self is here to apologize. I am sorry for being such a hater on what is ultimately a Christmas classic. It deserves the recognition of being a holiday hit. It has the sadness we all feel over being single during Christmas while still bringing hope for a new love to come within the following year.
Because isn't that what Christmas is all about? Being sad.
Only joking, of course; that's just part of it.
The best part of Christmas is all the dreaming and wishing.
As we grow older and become less naive and jaded, we always have the holiday to remind us to embrace the season's magic.