By Icy Frantz
Do you hear those words playing in your head or the singsongy tune blasting from the speaker in your car as you make your way through the bright lights of the holiday? Does the wonderful – make you wonder- will I get it all done? Do you think about those items on your to-do list that need to be to-do’ed in order to make this time of year just that? Well, catch your breath, grab a tea – or a CBD gummy, if you like – and let’s unwrap the wonderful.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to play doubles squash. My weekly games are a highlight; the chance to move this old body, connect with a few friends, and the best shot (like that?) of getting myself up and out of the house before the army of yellow buses and ahead of the gridlock that is the Post Road in the morning on school days.
My playing is not always great; in fact, sometimes it can be utterly dismal. And if I’m being completely honest, my game has been pretty dreary all fall.
Usually by December, I find my rhythm, and I can feel fairly confident that when a ball comes my way, I will hit it solidly (and with some finesse).
This year, though, that has not been the case, and I have instead perfected…the mishit.
Non-squash players have probably experienced the mishit in another sport. It happens in baseball when the batter does not connect with the ball in the center of the bat- the striking zone. Or in golf, when the elusive sweet spot is hard to find due to poor swing or stance, resulting in a slice or a shot that veers drastically off course – literally.
But my favorite is on the tennis court, when a pro mishits the ball, which then grazes the net and dribbles over, followed by the raise of a hand as if to imply, “sorry!” But really, a point is a point, no matter how ugly.
A mishit is never intentional or planned. Clearly the intention is a beautiful rail, a home run, or a hole in one, and it’s simply not what you got – but sometimes it can be enough to stay in the game.
By now – if you are still with me – you might be wondering what the connection is between mishits and the most wonderful time of the year. Read on.
I once was harassed for arriving to a holiday lunch with a hostess gift tucked away in a bag (the only one I could find in my closet so last minute) all decked out in Halloween orange and black. Mishit.
Then there was the time that I showed up to a big, festive Christmas black tie affair to greet, at their front door, the unexpecting host and hostess, who had just settled down for a quiet evening in pj’s. I was a week early. Mishit.
Or the year that I was so proud of myself for my early planning but mixed up my Christmas packaging and sent the wrong presents to the wrong sister. Mishit.
Or the Christmas that we put off buying our tree, only to come home with the last – very last, Charlie Brown-esque – tree in the lot. Mishit.
And that same tree was pulled down that same year by our inquisitive cats, breaking some of my favorite ornaments. Mishit.
But like my squash season, we keep showing up day after day, year after year. Because the wonderful of this time of year is never about the perfection – or the mishits, foul balls, hook shots or clips.
It’s about showing up. It’s about being together. And celebrating.
It’s about those moments – usually not manufactured, often spontaneous – when you discover the magic or the post-game burn.
It’s not about coiffed hair or fitting into last year’s velvet (although that would be nice) or packages with bright red and green bows or holidays cards that show off our offspring (reluctantly approved by the very same offspring) or professional lights strung in our trees or delicious, home-baked (rather than store-bought) gingerbread, shortbread, sugar cookies and more.
Those things are beautiful and brilliant for sure but the wonderful this time of year goes deeper than that- and it’s a gift that we get “when loved ones are near”.
The wonderful is not about impressing; it’s about blessing (a wise friend told me that once).
And I think of that often when I feel overwhelmed, when I am off of my game, way off of my game deep into the cold December month.
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”- Cheers to the mishits and merriment. A point is a point- no matter.
