Singing' in the Rain

I was singin' in the rain today -- not Gene Kelly style, but with a group of sopping wet, though jolly carolers attempting to add to the festive atmosphere of our local downtown's holiday shopping experience.  It was an unseasonably warm 50 degrees and drizzling (sometimes out and out raining) -- not our typical late-November Wisconsin weather.  But, with Santa hats and umbrellas, we sang the likes of "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and "Jingle Bells" anyway.  Music and memories are so integral to Christmas that it can be difficult to separate one from another.  Not surprisingly, it's harder for me to get into the merriment this season, having just experienced the loss of my beloved mom in September.  Perhaps "Singin' in the Rain" is an apt description of my Christmas experience this year.  I'll admittedly be in kind of a rainy state of grieving but I'll welcome a little fa-la-la mixed in.  For, as the song goes, "We need a little Christmas...right this very minute."  I know that I do.  Perhaps more than ever.