Oh, What Fun... NOT!

It wasn’t uncommon to stumble out of bed any morning this past December and catch Cal singing “Have a holly, jolly Christmas…” as he put on his shoes for the day or to hear Ella singing “We WISH you a Merry Christmas, we WISH you a Merry Christmas…” at some point during the day.  I enjoyed every bit of it… well, almost every bit.  And just yesterday morning, I was reminded of why I say “almost.”

Having just left the holiday season (or, in our case, nearing the end of it as I haven’t yet taken down the Christmas decorations throughout the house), Christmas songs are still pretty fresh in the Leatherkids’ minds.  So when Ella was singing “Jingle Bells” as we got ready for work/school yesterday morning, it seemed pretty normal.

“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jinGLE all the way… oh, McFun, it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh… HEY!” she sang and then repeated.  Yes, "McFun" instead of "what fun."

And then Dan joined in, “Dashing through the snow… in a one-horse open sleigh... o’er the fields we go… LAUGHING all the way… HA HA HA!” he sang with Ella tagging along.

And as they started the next part, I cringed because I knew it was coming.  My family just butchers – yes, in my eyes, BUTCHERs – the next part, the part just before transitioning back to the “jingle bells” refrain.

“Bells on bobtails ring… making spirits bright…” I braced myself for what was next, “OH, what fun it is to…” and I don’t think they can even finish it correctly, with all of the words despite their best efforts because the whole rhythm of words to the music is off.  THERE’S NO “OH” IN THAT PART, LEATHERPEOPLE! 

Goodness.  Why can't they get that right?  I’ve done my share of correcting them – HIM, really, as I blame it completely on Dan – by singing along loudly during that part, “WHAT FUN it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight… OH,…”

I don’t know why I find it surprising.  He also butchers “Frosty the Snowman,” but I can almost understand that.  One, there are a lot of verses in that song, and the order of them is important – it’s not easy to keep them straight during the excitement of singing it.  Two, he comes by that one honestly – I’ve heard the entire Giblin (his mom’s side) family butcher it as well.  But “Jingle Bells”?  There’s really no excuse to butcher that one.

They say there are two things you can count on in your life – death and taxes.  Well, I have three – my family just can’t sing “Jingle Bells” correctly.  But I love them nonetheless.