I enjoy doing this every year. Sometimes it happens shortly after Christmas. Sometimes it happens on New Year’s Eve, or New Year’s Day. This year, due to many circumstances, this one is being completed somewhere around the Ides of January! Those circumstances had an effect on my season, for sure, and may also have an effect on me for months to come. I will talk about some of those circumstances. I will also be using data from the past few years to analyze the data from this year. I featured some of that data in previous season recaps. Those posts can be found here and here and here.
Circumstances.
I love the quote by Martha Washington: ”The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”
I adhere to this philosophy more than most, and more than many think I should. I try to find a way to be jolly despite anything going on around me. I just want to be clear about this before I start pointing at the way some of my circumstances defined my season this year!
By the way, I imagine Martha being a sweet, incredibly supportive gal, not unlike one would imagine Mrs Claus!
CIRCUMSTANCES
Earlier this year I suffered from two, separate, yet life-altering, conditions. The first was Shingles. If you had told me at the beginning of the year that I would be dealing with shingles, I would have told you that I would be more surprised if I woke up one morning with shingles stapled to my forehead, and eye, and cheek, and a couple other locations! The fatigue and fevers/chills were just as bad as the discomfort of the rash. I had only just turned 50, and hadn’t gone for the vaccine. And I certainly regretted not doing so. Over the summer, I had a relapse that only affected my eye, but was scary and impactful.
The second was Lyme Disease. I never saw a tick or a bullseye, but around Fall I began experiencing fatigue, aches, pains, and brain fog. I was put on a pretty strong antibiotic and the symptoms went away after a week or two, although I frequently found myself achy in the evening after the initial experience. These two conditions were pretty interruptive of my normal routines. I missed work, missed family activities, and missed other opportunities. I lost weight, then gained weight, and never really recovered my original activity.
Another very impactful event that occurred in my life is that my business partner and I bought a building, and moved our flagship store and corporate headquarters (of more than thirty years). This was supposed to happen over the summer, but it ended up happening right as my season kicked into full swing! Add to that our busiest rental season ever, the most lessons ever taught during the months of September, October, and November (and I can only assume December), instrument purchase and repair backlogs, and some major family emergencies experienced by my business partner, and we had the perfect storm during the last quarter!
And then came Christmas. For me, it started earlier than ever. (Perhaps I should note that I had several Christmas in July gigs–more than ever before–but I am talking about the actual season now) Every weekend was booked from October through December. And December! There were four Saturdays before the Holiday in December (my busiest day of the week by far). And I had visits every single evening (minus one) of December leading up to Christmas Eve.
I WAS EXHAUSTED FROM DAY ONE! I was more tired than I ever have been before. While I don’t believe in being defined by our circumstances, I would be unfair to myself to not understand the circumstances in my life while trying to figure out why I was so tired! After pondering this, I came to the following conclusions: I was still dealing with the effects of Lyme Disease, I was experiencing a considerable amount of stress knowing that my business partner and my family were coping with issues without me, I was busier than I ever have been, and I am getting old.
I share these circumstances to frame the data that I’m about to share.
Last year I touched substantially more souls with my Santa portrayal than ever before thanks to Light up Night and a bunch of corporate parties. This year, I added a news interview that aired on December 23rd. So, I don’t know how to calculate that, but it was a totally fun experience. And even without it, my souls touched number (usually my standard metric) was almost as high as last year–almost 26,000!
Another important metric is the number of children I met with. And in this case, I only count those children for whom I was able to look into their eyes and share a moment (virtual visits included).
Year one: 422.
Year two: 396.
Year three: 850.
Year four: over 1000.
Corporate Events: Y1:0 Y2:1 Y3:23 Y4:32
House Parties: Y1:1 Y2:6 Y3:15 Y4:21
In Home Visits: Y1:27 Y2:23 Y3:23 Y4:19
Virtual Visits: Y1:233 Y2:102 Y3:105 Y4:137
Photo Sessions: Y1:0 Y2:0 Y3:58 Y4:112**
Hours Spent: Y1:300+ Y2:184 Y3:?? Y4:over 300***
Miles Driven: Y1:250 Y2:235 Y3:315 Y4:340
*This year I did about a dozen Cameos–so fun!
**Photographers: Shari Brownlee
Rebecca Lukens
Always Remember (Lonchena)
***I spent over 125 hours before Dec 1st
Circumstantially difficult? Sure.
Exhausting in every way? Absolutely.
Financially soluble? Check.
Successful by the numbers? Indeed.
But success for me depends on my most important accounting metric: the welfare of my wife and children. And this year, with everything going on, was very difficult. My kids are busier than ever. My wife is stretched thin by work, by volunteerism, and by being the best-looking (and busiest) chauffeur in the industry! And the residual Christmas Spirit I am able to bring home with me from visits doesn’t always make it into the hearts of those that matter most. Reconciling the benefits of the portrayal with the opportunity costs of portraying is a tough accounting process. But as I recognize the circumstantial trials that accompanied this season, and hope to avoid them in the future, I am grateful for the chance to don the suit each year.
And I am currently spending some well-needed time with some well-deserving people!
PGH Santa Claus 