I haven't bothered to get a Christmas tree since I first started living on my own. It always seemed pretty pointless. That was about 11 years ago.
When I was living in the basement apartment in Cambridge, I used to string up Christmas lights all through the exposed pipes every winter. I’ve always loved Christmas lights, and I used to leave them up in my place following the holiday until all the bulbs had finally burned out months later. I don’t really know why, but Christmas is still my favorite holiday.
A lot has changed in the last few months alone, and for a number of reasons life is much better now than it has been in years. Redhead and I are both finally doing what we really need to be doing. And personally, I feel like the music I’m writing is something I’ve been trying to write for a long time.
I recently picked up The Fountainhead for the first time since I was an undergrad. God bless Ayn Rand. I remember finishing Atlas Shrugged during a graveyard shift as a community college-attending security guard. It was a gorgeous night, and the book made me feel like anything was possible. I’ve never gotten over that. Reading The Fountainhead again recently, I was touched by Roark’s words in the first chapter: “I have, say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. I’ve chosen the work I want to do. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself to sixty years of torture. And I can find joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standard—and I set my own standards.”
Recently, Redhead and I bought our first ornaments for the artificial hand-me-down tree I’ve strapped to the bookshelf in lieu of a stand. The ornaments are little snowmen frames in which she put photos of us and our dogs. In so many ways, my wife is what makes us feel like a family.
This morning I took a walk with my beautiful dogs through the crisp LA winter morning—like a light New England Fall, almost raining. Witnessing my dogs' joy in the outdoors, I just took my time and enjoyed thinking about the music I would get to write today.
