December 10: "Three Things to Remember," Following the Rules, Christmas Essay

Mary Oliver breaks the rules . . . 

Three Things to Remember

by:  Mary Oliver

As long as you're dancing, you can

     break the rules.

Sometimes breaking the rules is just

     extending the rules

Sometimes there are no rules.

I don't like rules all that much.

If I'd followed the rules my whole life, I'd be a plumber right now, probably making a whole lot more money than I currently make as a contingent college English professor, poet, and library programmer.  That doesn't mean I'd be happier, just better off financially.

Instead, I sort of made up my own rules for success.  For example, I don't do anything that makes me unhappy.  Don't listen to music that annoys me.  Don't watch movies/television shows or read books that bore me.

Of course, there are always exceptions to rules.  I started watching The Crown because my daughter said I would like it.  (She literally forced me to view the first episode, and now I'm obsessed with the show.)  A few years ago, a friend told me that I just HAD to read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr; I didn't pick it up until two years later--after Doerr won the Pulitzer and a movie adaptation was in the works--and I loved every page of it.  

I follow some rules during the Christmas season.  I do write a new Christmas poem and essay every year.  I do send out Christmas cards containing letters and pictures to almost 80 people every year.  I do watch It's A Wonderful Life every Christmas Eve.  If I don't do each of these things, it simply doesn't feel like Christmas to me.

Right now, I'm in the midst of finishing my Christmas essay.  It's been a rough process this year.  I usually start writing this essay in July.  However, choosing the right subject was challenging this time, and then, when I finally found my subject, figuring out how to write about it took me several more weeks.  

I'm happy to report that I've finished writing about half of the essay as of this moment.  My goal:  to have the essay finished by Wednesday morning (that's when I have to record it for my local Public Radio station).

I've got a good start, but now I'm trying to figure out the rules of this essay.  In my experience, each writing project comes with its own guidelines.  Sometimes, however, it takes quite a long time to discern what those guidelines are.  I'm just getting to that point right now.

So, tonight, here are three rules to remember about Saint Marty:

1. He loves Christmas.
2. He's obsessive about his writing.
3. He hates working under deadlines.