Journal to a Muse

The Best Messy Christmas ever!

I know that not everybody had as satisfying a Christmas as I did. I've read about some in the newspaper, I've talked to others, and I watched a few others on the evening news.

I wasn't sure this year would be all that great. The kids weren't going to be here, the weather was spring like, I'm feeling stiff and creaky (and tired, still), and we didn't have any big plans. Plus, I went on a hunt for some particular things that had been in storage, and I couldn't find them for the longest time. By the time I DID find them, I was too pooped to put all the boxes away, so they ended up right where I left them. Martha Stewart and my Dear Departed Mother would have fits. (Erma Bombeck, however, would be right at home.)

What I learned this year:

1. Elaborate plans are over-rated. I had no control over my grown children's plans..They each live 1000+ miles away and have jobs, responsibilities and budgets. Not to mention other family members who vie or claim to vie for their attention. So it was DH and me. We slept VERY late. We snuggled (with the cat) and listened to NPR's amazing "tinsel tales" and then opened presents. DH had never heard David Sedaris' Santa Land Diaries... and I'd never heard them read by the author.


2. I'm funny about presents. I get all concerned about having given the "right" present, when giving what matters TO ME works just as well. DH liked what I got... and understood my efforts at understanding.


3. I'm funny about receiving presents, too. Frankly, I LIKE presents! (Think Sally Fields... as in "They like me, they really like me!!") DD knows I like fun and hoopla more than value or quality! DH understood that, too, although he splurged on every book I'd mentioned since about July.


4. If you get things you really like, you don't need to feel guilty. ENJOY!


5. Even traditions can be updated and changed. It was afternoon before we got to sit down to my traditional "Jolly Breakfast Ring." It should probably be called the Jolly Gorilla Ring these days, because with Paula Deen's help, I've made it even richer and more delicious than the original. This year did see some of it stuck in the pan, but we didn't care.


6. When you are happy with who you're with, it doesn't matter what you do. We took a drive out to the "country and were rewarded with the sight of two LIVE camels just outside the suburbs. I may have to go back in that direction tomorrow and see what they are doing there. Escaped from a nativity play? We had naps. We only prepared about half of our prepared supper... by mutual agreement. Just not very hungry. After supper we watched a movie. Cozy. Casual. Companionable.


7. Family matters. I had wonderful talks with each of my children. One of them missed me, which made me sad for them, but happy that I mattered. The other didn't say I'd been missed, so I could be happy for that too. We'll plan ways to see each other in person in 2008-- Maybe not for Christmas, and maybe not at "home" but someplace where we can all relax and enjoy who and how we are.


8. 
   

Sometimes things that are lost show up. I thought I lost this little guy. Nope. Forgot where I put him. How ironic is it that I'd rather lose my mind that a teeny trumpeter?






Oh, and some knitters and fiber lovers are angels.