I haven't posted here since Nov. 9. Sorry. Life has been chaotic and a little crazy. I guess at my age
that can be a good thing. :) I guess it means I'm still putting along. I'm sure you can all relate. Time flies and days are busy. Let's be thankful we are busy and that to some extent, we can still manage "crazy". Right?
I know that Thanksgiving is next week - less than a week away. Today as I was making my way through this and that around town - I could actually feel the electricity that accompanies this time of year. People are talking about the size of turkeys they have ordered or that they're about to order. Almost everyone asks one another, "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" "Where are you going?" "Are you cooking?", etc., etc. It's a good excitement and it's just the beginning. For the next several weeks, it will be like that wherever we go. Bustling, hurrying, busy, busy, busy. Electric. During these weeks, let's try to also remember that not everyone is going to be bustling. Not everyone is going to be sharing the excitement and anticipation. Some people are alone. Others are not well. Many are
worried and apprehensive - for many reasons. Whether it's a phone call, a 'thinking of you' card, a
visit with a pot of soup........ anything that says 'I care'. I am going to make that a concerted effort.
Will you do it with me? I hope so. I need your encouragement as much as you may need mine. Thanks.
Here at home, things are bustling. Not by requirement but by design. We love to decorate for
Christmas. I say "we". I hope I'm right. :) The day after Halloween, all those fun decorations come down. I mean immediately. Nothing drives me crazier than to see Halloween decorations after Halloween! Just a personal pet peeve. And immediately after that, the Christmas TUBS begin coming
in to the house. Approximately 45 tubs. I know. I know. Bob and I are eccentric Christmas decorators. By that, I mean he carries it all in to the house from storage and I decide where and how it goes up.
I vacillate between tradition - such as this tree ALWAYS goes here - to trying to do things a little differently each year. Some years it's murder! This year it's gone pretty easily. We put up lots of trees - all over The house - and then there are the mantels, countertops, on and on. I absolutely love it. The reason for getting it up early is that we can then sit back and actually enjoy it. We don't turn on the lights until after Thanksgiving. But if I wait until after Thanksgiving to begin, we don't get to enjoy it.
I know not everyone enjoys the profusion of Christmas everywhere, but we do. It's a good thing Bob
and I agree on this. :)
Remember that old movie, "I Remember Mama"? Well, it's a sure thing that everyone reading this
does remember mama. I mean - we women always fix the stuffing the way mama did. We make
pie crust the way mama did. The older we get the more we tend to do things the way mama did it. Am I right? As a child, our home was always a bit chaotic - for lots of reasons - and we didn't have
a lot. But my mother always made decorating for Christmas a big deal. Certainly we only had one
tree and it was a real tree. (Today, my trees are artificial, however.) Mother let my sister and me
put the decorations on the tree and we loved it. When we were finished, Mother handled the rest.
She used tinsel. Remember tinsel? Mother would begin hanging the tinsel on the tree. She did it all
day long and all night long, as she'd take a break from cooking or as she'd walk through the living
room, or just before bedtime and then early in the morning before we woke up. Any extra moment she had, she'd be hanging more tinsel! She'd still be adding tinsel to that tree until Christmas! And it was perfect, put on one piece at a time. It was beautiful. A wonderful memory for me.
But before the tree, came the yule log. Before daddy would get the tree, Mother would get out the
yule log that she kept year to year. It had three red candles and it would sit on top of the television. We never lit the candles because she used them year after year. But when Charmaine and I got home
from school and saw that yule log on the TV, we knew the tree was coming soon and so was Christmas. Memories. I thank God for them.
I think we all hope we have somehow instilled fond memories in the hearts of our own children, memories that they will carry with them through their lives. Several years ago when Jamey came
home for Christmas, he immediately noticed that I had a different tree topper on the traditional
tree. He said that he remembered the angel that had always been on our Christmas trees when he
was growing up. Touchdown!!! I do still have that angel. Of course. If you know me, you know
that I still have that angel.
Well, tonight I've spoken more about Christmas than I have Thanksgiving and we haven't had either one yet. It's not that I'm overlooking Thanksgiving. It's just that I'm already in the throws of Christmas. Bear with me, please.
More importantly - I guess if I'm sending a message tonight, it's just this. Whatever your traditions, whatever your holiday preferences or family practices, just remember to "soak it up", enjoy it, relish
it. Cherish it. Treasure it. It's fleeting. And I'm not just talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas.
You get the message.
By the way, my porch is screened in. Albert and I absolutely love it.
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