Christmas in July. No Promises Please.

Even the rush of wind entering my truck’s fully opened windows was not enough to shake this summer heat off of me as I commuted north bound to the confines of my home. The evening sun left its mark on the greater part of my left arm and face, drying me out completely. Indeed, these are the times when a thick blanket of snow would be much appreciated. I ponder the chances of snow on the hottest day of summer as I hop through the sizzling frying pan that is my driveway but brushed that thought off as I reached my front door. The weather channel calls for clear skies and plus 30 Degree (Celsius) days for the next 2 weeks. So, clearly, Christmas in July was not happening any time soon. Or would it?

I made my way passed my curious dogs into the kitchen and plunged into the pile of freshly received mail, set there by whoever came home before me. The envelopes emitted the residue of the summer heat, warm like fresh baked cookies, only they weren’t sweet and delicious; they were most likely bills. I shuffle through, feeling like the subject of a game of Russian roulette, each envelope a potential shot to my brain and wallet. First piece of mail; for my papa. I give a sigh of relief. Second piece of mail; for my papa again! Third piece of mail; for my momma! Fourth piece of mail, I squeeze the trigger slowly because chances are that this one is mine. I feel a weight change in the rotation of the chamber (I know, I lead a dangerous life). Click!

I’m not dead, obviously, nor is my bank account depleted so I don’t even have to tell you that the envelope addressed to me was not a bullet, sent to collect monies. Far from it actually; it was a Christmas card from an amazing girl, provinces away. Of course, the contents were outdated (7 months outdated to be exact) but none the less, it melted my heart like it was that damn summer heat I locked outside earlier. The fact of the matter is that the author of this beautiful card left my fine city before we were able to exchange them. Even though she departed in the early part of summer, we never really found time to meet up. You see, we had that special bound that was beyond commitment and promises. She got on that plane leaving me with a feeling that she would forget me in a few months time and I was okay with that. How do you expect someone to leave a part of them behind for your sake? You don’t. So without a promise to mail the Christmas card or to keep in touch, she was gone. And I was greatful for that.

What’s in a promise anyways? All it adds is a greater chance of being disappointed. I’m not saying this as a bitter man; I’m saying this as a firm believer that we as humans have very little control of a lot of things and yet we make promises. “I promise you that I will have both of my legs for the rest of my life.” Really? So you’re saying that you’ve made an agreement with all cars, saws, hungry bears, etc to never harm you? “I promise that I will never look at another woman’s ass ever.” What if you accidentally clicked on a link that leads you to a porn site full of women’s asses? “I promise you that nothing will take me away from you, my lover.” Hmmm. You know how those usually end.

All these promises are made in good faith and don’t get me wrong, it’s sweet and we all want to believe in them but I’m old enough to know that promises are worth nothing. And like I said earlier, if those promises were never made, I’m sure that the friend of the guy that lost both legs, the girlfriend of the guy that stares at ladies’ asses, and the heartbroken fool crying on the floor writing blogs all day, well, they all would have been a little bit less disappointed. No? Yes.

We all try to be weather people, predicting and promising for sunshine or rain, but why? All we do is risk the chance of an angry mob showing up at our door step with their bathing suit on, freezing in the unexpected overnight snow blizzard. It’s not our fault because all signs pointed to sunny skies so a promise seemed fitting. However, weather is unpredictable. Life is unpredictable. A few years back it snowed in June in my city and this year I received a Christmas in July, despite the forecast. Because she had not made any promises, I would have been fine had that card never come. So please no promises. Let me hope for the best without you adding a false sense of security.

To end on a good note, I know that there are countless examples of times when things work out just the way we’d hoped. But don’t count on me to make any promises about that.