Where DOES The Time Go??? (And When I Find It, Do I Know How To Use It Wisely??)

Hello all: so I see almost a month has gone by since my last entry (amazing how time slips past us these days, especially around the holidays...); anyway, I guess another re-cap is in order: the last month has seen my Mom in the hospital for 9 days with a re-ocurrance of her pneumonia from her stay in September, dehydration (she had hardly eaten anything after getting sick Thanksgiving Eve--& unfortunately, missing the holiday altogether, before we took her to First-Med) combined with very low potassium & thyroid readings & a flaring-up of her gallstones, which almost required surgery--sooner rather than later); she's much better now, staying home the last 10 days resting (my wife & myself, my sister & bro-in-law & the nieces were there last Sunday to help her put up her tree & finish decorating, spend time with her, etc.) & last nite, we took her out to do some shopping (which felt like being re-leased from prison, she said!! LOL--not THAT drastic, she admits, but you get the meaning...); also, the wife & I have not even decorated the house at this point (she gets home late @ least a few nights a week, & even when she doesn't, we're both so tired from the workday we just don't do anything); we did our Xmas cards printed up (with the pup & Santa), but have to put them together & send them out; not getting a tree till this weekend because we want a real one & my wife says we have no place to store a new fake one (I say, in the clutter that is our lives, what's the difference at this point?? LOL)--plus, we are actually having everyone (a mix of both sides of the family) over for Xmas Eve (a big undertaking, yes, but it will be nice); in fact, I'm even late with putting up all the Xmas cards/photos we've gotten (more & more each day, I feel, as Steve Miller in the original & then Seal in the re-make sang in "Fly Like An Eagle" that "time keeps on slipping, slipping, into the future"); & while I'm looking forward to all the upcoming holiday festivities & such (starting with our yearly trek to NJ for Xmas with my sister & the family there), my in-offiice holiday party next week, the afore-mentioned Xmas Eve, New Year;s Eve @ our friends' house, etc., I feel like I haven't fully gotten into the Xmas Spirit (we did watch the tree-lighting specials & some other Xmas stuff on various networks, we mostly have Xmas music on here @ work, you here it everywhere else, all the commercials on TV & radio ad-naseum); it's hard to explain sometimes, but I think with all that's happened the last year or so, I'm most certainly looking forward to packing away 2011 & moving on to the New Year, but realize that once again, it's kind of selfish to complain about anything with all the terrible things still going on in the world, to people in my family & in the different circles of friends, etc.--I think it's OK to want a fresh start & a clean slate, but so much has happened to so many that I know & love; for example, this time of year is so hard for my wife (her Dad) & anyone else who has lost a loved one right before Xmas (it's hard anytime, but even tougher before the holidays); this hit home when attending the wake of a friend from our theater group who I met over 6 years ago doing "The Wizard of Oz" then when we started "Gypsy" the next year, he had to bow out after being cast due to his mom's illness; he came back 2 years ago for "Cinderella" & we all had a great re-connecting, but even then, he wasn't himself & you can tell he wasn't well; he plowed thru the show & persevered, though (showing more pluck & fortitude than most people I know; I don't if I could be as strong); when we did "Annie", his son, who has been working backstage with us for years, kept us posted on his ever-changing conditions (a great guy, such a "mensch", & just plain nice) & it was hard for my wife to sit there even for the short time we attended; then you find out that the poor woman killed in that freak elevator accident worked with & knew an old friend of mine, so shock & mourning all around; the family of the officer who was killed because the judicial & legal system failed knows their loved one was in a dangerous line of work, but if savage animals like those who were responsibile weren't roaming the streets, this wouldnt've happened how & when it did--sighhhhh, & I complain when I feel stressed @ work, or think I'm still not doing enough in my exercise regimen or diet, or when the buses run late to & from work, or when one of the many clueless people or one of the many avoidable situations in the world "grind my gears", as a theater-group friend of mine is fond of saying---so, let's all remember, "Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men (& Women & Children & Dogs & Cats & Everyone We Meet...); maybe Frank Capra was right: maybe if we think of what would happen if we were never born & never knew the love of our nearest & dearest & in turn, they never knew what it was like to have us in THEIR worlds, we might see that it really could be "A Wonderful Life" :)