Wednesday, December 24, 2014

My Christmas Wish For You

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My Christmas wish for you is:

That all of your bells jingle and
your stocking not be filled with coal,

That visions of sugar plums dance in your head
and your children stay nestled, all snug in their beds,

That all of your twinkle lights, both inside and out,
May they sparkle and shine and never go out.

That peace on earth, good will to man,
would be more than a verse written in sand.

And that you find the star, lit from above
and spend Christmas day with ones that you love.

Merry Christmas to all
and to all a good night.


Sunday, December 21, 2014

And The Light Shone Round About Them


We have children in the neighborhood.  There are two.  A boy around the age of 11 or 12 and a sweet little 10 year old girl.  This might not sound like a big deal to you but in the land of perpetual summer when children in the neighborhood usually references anyone under the age of 50, this is a major big deal.

The little girl makes my heart go pitty pat.  She is just the right size with a long blond pony tail and strands of gold that manage to escape their band and fall willy nilly into her eyes.   And glasses... did I mention the glasses?  It's like having Miss A living across the street.  Well not quite but you get my drift.  Everytime I see her I think of our sweet Allie.

In recent years our end of the street has been devoid of exterior Christmas lights.  I gave up the tradition after waging a losing battle of keeping the lights on and one by one everyone else seemed to follow suite.  But this year the elderly couple to our north are expecting their 8 year old granddaughter for the holidays and were under strict orders from their daugher to get it done.   They did.  A few days later the house with the children lit up with strings of lights twinkling from the eaves and carefully wrapped around the palms.

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The Kid couldn't stand it.

I came home from shopping one afternoon to find him draping stand after strand over the shrubs along the front of the house.  Half of them didn't work so as one strand went out another came from the confines of the garage to replace it.  Eventually we had a continuous line of lights.

The next thing I noticed was the college student on the south side of us, home for Christmas break, standing on a ladder, staple gun in hand, a strand of lights trailing behind.  Eventually our dear friend's across the street said they could no longer live with the guilt and headed off to the nearest Lowes (because they had previously discarded all of their exterior lights).  Even the perpetually grumpy neighbor two doors down has a lighted wreath hanging from his front door.

Before we could say Santa Clause is coming to town our end of the street was lit up, like, well,  Christmas.

Now back to the Allie clone across the street.

I was outside walking Henna last night and she was out riding her bicycle.  She stopped to pet the dog and chat.  (She is a chatter.  Just like someone else I know and love.)  In the course of the conversation she was telling me in one continues breath how

"much of a dud the neighborhood had seemed because nobody decorated for Christmas not like her old home in Arkansas and then her dad put up some lights and then the next day like magic the whole street was all lit up and she guessed it wasn't so bad after all."

Whew.   She never slows down.

But it did make me smile to think how our neighborhood of bah humbugers had unwittingly come together and made Christmas a little brighter for a little girl in a new home and a new town.

May your days be Merry and Bright and your Christmas filled with Light.




Monday, December 15, 2014

Simplifying Christmas

I used to love the Christmas season.  The hustle and bustle of gift  shopping.  The smell of fresh baked cookies and bread.  Decorating.  Hanging tinsel from the tree.  I think I fed off of the excitement of two little boys and I cherish those memories.

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Since those days many Decembers have come and gone.  And with each passing one my enthusiasm for the holiday has diminished a little year.  I avoid the mall like the plague.  On line shopping is much easier and far less stressful.  I rarely bake, mostly because I will be the one stuffing myself full of unwanted calories, and most years it is all I can do to muster enough energy to decorate the tree.

I have been known to blame my holiday indifference on Florida and the fact that the boys are grown.  When your children become adults with lives and families of their own it's a game changer.  But that's not fair.  Christmas lights twinkling from palm trees and boat parades are holiday traditions too.  Perhaps not mine but it is unreasonable to reject them simply because they weren't previously a part of my life.  And the adult children?  They should be allowed the freedom to create their own family traditions.

I've thought a lot about my Christmas malaise and this year have granted myself permission to do as little as possible without guilt or remorse.  It took me three days to decorate the tree which I had decreed was the only decorating that would be done because, well, who wants to put all that stuff away anyway.  As I sorted through the bins of holiday decorations I decided to clean house, toss what was broken or no longer meaningful.

A funny thing happened on the way to placing the wallpaper angel on top of the tree.  Without my realizing it, the rest of the house became sprinkled with Christmas.  It may not be the over the top Christmas wonderlands that are portrayed in magazines and on tv but who needs that stress.  As  I looked around the house I saw my Dad in the old wooden sleigh he made for my Mom over 60 years ago,  Bubba in the scent of cinnamon wafting from the candle in the kitchen, Stephen in the tall wooden angel holding tightly to her star,  my Mom in the ancient glass ornament that hung on her tree as a child, B is here as a jolly fat snowman fishing from  his too small boat (a gift she ha probably forgotten she gave), Allie and Gabe in handmade paper ornaments,  and Chris in the wallpaper angle that presides over it all.

That's when it hit me.  By simplifying Christmas, eliminating the junk, the trendy stuff with no meaning, and sprinkling what remaines around the house I will never be alone for Christmas.  Everyone I love and cherish is right here with me.

Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

P.S.  The Kid and I even went to the mall on Thursday.








Monday, December 8, 2014

Another Season Ends

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We have traveled from here to there and back again.

Thanksgiving was all it was supposed to be, a week of family crammed into a Little Red lit by the light of the fire.   There was snow and turkey, giggles and guffaws.  Uno was introduced to Miss A and the G-man and played for hours on end.  Just enough snow covered the ground for just long enough to make snow angels and engage in a few snowball fights.  Mostly the little ones would lie in wait for an unsuspecting adult to venture outdoors and then, well, you know.

It was truly a blessing to find our ailing friend on the mend.  The change in him from the time we left in late October until our return was truly amazing.  Another reason to be especially thankful this year.

Eventually the fire burned itself out, the ashes hauled away in the rusting metal pail.  Floors were mopped, furniture covered to protect from the harsh glare of winter.  The pipes were drained and the shades lowered on our fourth season at Little Red.

As we turned our attention south, to palm trees and sunshine I couldn't help but think what a joy our little corner on the lake has been.  She is the gift that keeps on giving, memories made with friends and family, fiery sunsets, kayak adventures, campfires and three new friends I feel like I've known forever.

Just think, come May we get to do it all again.