Everyone has that certain something that makes them happy. Or at least I hope that they do. Something that they look forward to with wild expectation. One particular event or season or action that makes their heart fill with anticipation because you know the joy that will come along beside €¦ for me, that €œthing € is Christmas.
Christmas €“ the times leading up to and the actual day itself €“ was a truly joyful time for me when I was a little girl. I can still feel the crispness in the air as we drug the Christmas tree into my grandparent’s basement and up the stairs of the split-level house into the living room. Filled with colored lights that blinked in an oddly non-rhythmic pattern and ornaments made mostly by hand, it was a beautiful sight to my eyes.
My grandmother would make divinity and fudge. It would be the only time all year that she would make anything that resembled a dessert. The radio (covered in grease) that sat by the stovetop would play Christmas songs all day on radio station WLLS. I would sit at the bar on the stool that didn’t have all the week’s daily newspapers piled on it and take in every moment. Even as a child I savored all that went on at Christmas, and I knew that these moments were fleeting. A holiday that I loved so much would be over just as quickly as it began.
These memories are so special to me. They are the same ones that I keep in my mind and try so diligently to recreate for my children. If nothing else, I pray that Christmas will be a time that they recall as larger-than-life and beautiful and magical.
I remember a time about four years ago, my husband, Don, was driving – the kids and I as his passengers – were singing away to Christmas songs on Sirius XM’s Holly station. After about an hour, Don said €œI can’t believe that the kids know every word to every song that comes on. € I took that as the highest compliment, since we always begin listening to Christmas music the day that it begins playing. Trust me when I tell you that we don’t adjust the dial from Holly. It doesn’t happen even for a second.
Our family life has had its same share of life’s ups and downs like everyone else. We’ve lived in the land of plenty and in the land of nothing. But, regardless of any year’s circumstances, the music has remained the same. It’s the link from my childhood to my children, and is a huge part in the legacy that I hope will go on for generations to come.
There are a lot of people who will have less this year in our area. Houston has seen an enormous number of layoffs and company’s folding in the wake of this oil crunch. Because of that, my eyes are probably a little more skeptical of corporations and businesses that seem to take advantage of the little guy €“ especially at Christmas.
One of those companies is Sirius XM. I’ve had Sirius since 2008. In fact, we have it in both cars and love it. We aren’t much on talk radio, so we have the €œMostly Music € package. As part of the Mostly Music package, we’ve always had Sirius XM’s Holly and various other channels of Christmas music as a perk during the holiday season. Yesterday, I found out that the service agreement has changed this year and Holly is no longer part of the deal. The only way that we can get Holly for the holidays is to “up” our subscription to the highest level.
I know that to most people, they would just shrug and move along. But, to me, this seems like another greedy ploy of a big company to give you less benefit for the same cost. And, to do that with something Christmas-related is a truly €œBah Humbug € moment for me.
I pay for Sirius on a yearly basis. My subscription doesn’t renew until April. I nearly cancelled my satellite at the first of October when I realized that this was an expense €“ even on a yearly basis €“ that wasn’t really necessary for us anymore. The only €“ and I mean only €“ reason that I didn’t cancel was because I knew that the Christmas music would be on soon. I couldn’t imagine a Christmas that the kids and I weren’t singing along at the top of our lungs to Sirius XM’s Holly.
So, thank you Sirius for the 8 great years. You’ve ushered in some amazing family memories, but I have to call it quits. I hope the few people you have that €œup € their subscription just to listen to the great Christmas stations that you offer pays off. But, some of us can’t double the amount we pay €“ even if we wanted to €¦
Merry Christmas, Sirius. I’m so sad you fell into the trap. You will be missed by everyone in my family.
