“It’s colder in this house than anywhere in Boston. It’s okay, Christmas means little to me.”

That’s a lyric from an old Fuzzy song – pretty close anyway. Man, I used to love Fuzzy, even shared the stage with them one time. I’m sure I remember it far better than they do.

The song just popped into my head and set me on another one of those thought-spirals that go nowhere, but oh, what a ride. I was thinking about some of the apartments I lived in, particularly back in the day, back in Boston. I think of these relatively small houses. Or rather, decent sized houses, but with room after room. I mean, you could really cram a lot of rooms into one of those houses. And you could cram a lot of people and stuff in, too. Built-in shelves and such helped in that you needed less furniture, but there was just so much less wasted space. seriously.

I love my house. I really do. And the addition upstairs means we have a bunch of smaller rooms instead of two big ones. More nooks and crannies, too. And though it is pretty new construction, I feel that it is reasonably unpretentious. I would like a cooler kitchen, and if ever we renovate, that is where I would be willing to kick it up. Nicer, solid surface counter tops instead of laminate. Probably not copper kitchen sinks or convection ovens in our future, but some nice granite or marble, maybe. I mean, it is the room we spend the most time in.

But I think about some of those tight little apartments. Those little spaces I crammed so much into. White walls covered with the glossy printed temporary colors of my presence. Surround sound was not really necessary. Big screens…didn’t need one of those either. Different time, different priorities. No kids. But…not so bad, either.

So, Fuzzy. I’ve always loved Christmas, but it means more to me now than ever before. Kids and a fire in the stove, and no Boston… It’s not an anti-Christmas song, by the way. At least, it seems much more of a break up song. A you-broke-my-heart-and-even-though-I’m-lonely-on-Christmas-I’m-going-to-deny-it-and-be-alright. It walks a tightrope between depressing and empowering. Remember when pop songs could do that?

“Silent night and all the lights are low…”