Thursday, December 27, 2012

Resolution Stress

After all these years, it has finally dawned on me why we subject ourselves to the hustle and bustle... the endless hours... of holiday preparation.

We do it willingly to distract ourselves from the long dark nights of December.

And the reason we set New Year's resolutions is so that we'll continue to have something to focus on other than the long dark nights of January and February.  Because let's face it... by March those resolutions are out the window.

In other words, we set ourselves up for stress purely as a distraction.

Well, this year my New Year's Resolution is to not make any resolutions. I'll avoid the stress and...more relaxed... spend those long dark nights snoring under the covers.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

May You...

Whatever your personal beliefs. Whatever your holiday traditions.

May your home be filled with the people your care for and the foods you savor. May you know serenity, joy, and warm embrace.

If circumstances keep you apart from loved ones, may you find peace in memories and the promise of reunion.

Merry Christmas!  Happy Holidays!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Ornamental Memories

Our Christmas tree might be just as aptly called a memory tree.

Every year, as I hang ornaments, I am reminded of years past. There's the first ornament Motivated Mom and I bought together - the year we were married standing in our living room on Christmas. The ornament that says baby's first Christmas was hung on the tree while College Dude sat strapped into a child seat on the floor - wearing a one piece Santa outfit. The other baby's first Christmas ornament was hung just about the same time Media Girl was taking her first steps.

There are a group of ornaments inscribed with the names of all the different pets that have shared our house over the years and collections inspired by different phases of our lives. Ornaments that followed us home from Disney World, Williamsburg, Aruba, and more.

Each ornament brings a period of the past back to life as through I were looking at the event through a portal in time. Each ornament reminds me of how fortunate our family has been.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

First Steps

It happened in a fortnight. Our granddaughter went from immobility to walking - bypassing crawling altogether.

There was the phase where she would stand upright while leaning on the couch - if someone set her on her feet first. Then suddenly she simply appeared underfoot in the kitchen, leaning on cabinet doors to enhance her stability. 

The crafty look on her face when she first came around the corner said Got you didn't I?

And now....now nothing is secure. The snow village under the Christmas tree was devastated by an avalanche generated by a seven-month-old.  Drawers and cabinets have been opened, their contents either simply inspected or altogether rearranged. The small palm tree in the corner is enduring the plucking of fronds from its branches.

I had forgotten this phase, this period of mobile inquisitveness where everything is a prize. I must remember to keep my car keys in my pocket.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Connecticut Christmas

One of my favorite holiday past times occurs after the rest of the household has gone to bed.

Grabbing a good book and a glass of wine, I turn off all of the lights in the house except those on the Christmas tree, put an assortment of Christmas music on the stereo, and settle into the recliner. The relaxation is so complete that it's not uncommon for me to find myself waking from a slumped slumber in the wee hours of the morning.

In Connecticut there are over two dozen families that will struggle to find comfort and joy in the Christmas season for many years to come. For these families the gaily decorated tree, the carols of the season, and the smell of Christmas treats in the oven will all serve as reminders of what was lost.

Were I to be granted a single Christmas miracle this year, I would wish Newton Connecticut to wake to the virginity of fresh snow on Christmas morning and discover  every bed in every household occupied. That every member of this community, as it was on December 13, would go about their annual traditions without a care. That the bells in church steeples would tell of nothing more than a baby's birth.

May God bless us everyone.


Monday, December 17, 2012

Grail Beer

It seems Christmas came early this year for beer connoisseurs in the U.S.  The holiday came with a price tag of $85 a six pack - which 150,000 folks eagerly paid.

The beer, brewed by monks in Belgium, and known as Westvleteren XII - or Westy 12 for short- is the type of thing that folks stand in line overnight for.

It seems the robed brew masters needed a new roof for their Abby so the decided to share their god-given talents with the U.S. via a limited release of the hoppy delight.

I'm all for supporting a good cause, and I appreciate a good brew as much as the next guy; but it strikes me as more than a little odd that monks are repairing a house of god by offering a product that has folks camping out in front of liquor stores. 

Now if the beer came with the holy grail........

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Holiday Investment

As I complete the wrapping of gifts, it occurs to me the holiday season and a gourmet meal have a lot in  common.

Gourmet meals involve numerous hours of behind the scenes preparation before the food is plated, only to have the food disappear in minutes.

Weeks of preparation go into Christmas and, in most households, the long awaited event is past history in mere hours.

Butt the effort is worth it. Just as a delicious meal can bring friends, families, or lovers together in intimacy and leave them feeling comfortably fulfilled, so too do the holidays bring us together and remind us of the importance of taking time out to spend time with those who are important to us. A real gift in an age when we all race from one thing to the next.

For those who approach the holiday with love and caring, the return on investment is more valuable than what might be held in any bank vault.


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Lights and Trees

December is the only time of year when someone can hastily erect a series of wooden posts at a highway intersection, stretch strings of barren incandescent bulbs between the posts, toss bushels of felled trees under the lights, and not get chased away by law enforcement.

I can remember back when I was a child how newly illuminated street corners advertised the newest harvest of Christmas trees without any signage needing to be posted. 

Beneath those lights families clad in scarves and coats milled in the aisles between evergreen propped against runs of two-by-fours searching for the tree that would be just right for them. Trees were pulled upright, spun, critiqued, and discarded - only to be revisited after dozens of options were considered.

Few trees in nature are absolutely perfect, yet each family seemed driven to find the natural exception - until father's announced the search had gone long enough and a compromise was reached.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12-12-12

This day has been full of news about 12-12-12 and rightly so given this is the last time the day, month, and year will sequence like this until the next century.  We're living a historic moment.

So what's history going to say about this day? Personally I'm hoping history will show this was the day I finally won the Powerball.  Cause of course I HAD to buy a couple of tickets for a drawing that's going to occur on a day that's historic due to a numerical configuration.

It occured to me that repetitive 1's and 2's are also a binary code. So I've been kind of concerned that this might be the day computers take over the world. I had to take deep slow breaths at work all day... worrying that the keys on the computer would suddenly take on the quality of Octopus suckers and I would be permanently melded to the computer.  Thankfully I survived the workday and my home computer seems to be as companionable...and submissive... as ever. Though there was a moment when that flashing icon for a Java update gave me a start.

North Korea launched a rocket / satellite today and the thing went haywire. So maybe computers are taking over but just haven't gotten to me yet.

If I'm lucky I'll find out I won the powerball before turning a computer on tomorrow... in which case I'll turn my back on all those megabytes and spend the rest of my days selling seashells by the seashore.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Santa Transport

Oh what a laugh it would have been if Daddy had only seen... Santa on a camel?




Well, I guess sleigh runners don't work so well in the desert.  I'm thinking maybe a pair of shorts though.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Mis Fit

The day felt like a shoe that become a half-size too small.  Everything was familiar and comfortable, yet nothing was as expected.

Morning drizzle drained all initiative so that breakfast ran into lunch. An early afternoon trip to the local version of Santa's Workshop left everyone damp and chilled to the bone. Though not quite ready for lunch, the thickening mist drove one and all to a local eatery for belly warming foods that led to heightened lethargy.

 Shuffling, half-hearted attempts at routine chores were soon abandoned in favor of favorite chairs that somehow failed to offer the expected comfort. Even the baby fussed with intuitive understanding that all was not as it should be.

Dinner was abandoned in favor of comforting drinks that drove one and all early to bed.

Perhaps the following dawn would see things as they ought to be.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Seasonal Tradition

The four weeks (roughly) from Thanksgiving to Christmas are filled with more traditions, expectations, and obligations than any other time of year. Trying to fit everything in frequently leaves us with our heads spinning.

Ironically it's also a time of year filled with songs about taking time out to count our blessings and spend time with those who are most important to us.

And what do we do during these four weeks?  We rush from one thing to the next... dinner gatherings, Christmas pageants, holiday shopping, cookie baking, office parties, gift wrapping, and decorating.  By the time extended family comes knocking at our door all we want to do is collapse.

It occurs to me that traditions are meant to bring comfort - not stress. Perhaps we have lost not only the reason for the season as so many suggest, but the proper perspective on tradition.

Henry David Thoreau once said: The more you chase happiness the more it eludes you. But if you turn your attention to other things happiness comes and sits softly on your shoulder.

Perhaps the same is true of tradition. Perhaps we should allow traditions to be created rather than strive to create them.

Resolve to take time this year to enjoy the season.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Kate's Cookies

Princess Kate has morning sickness and the English Royal's refuse to provide daily updates.  Whatever will we do.

I, for one, just don't know how I'll make it through the day without knowing what size chunks the princess tossed that morning or how long the servants had to scrub the loo to return it to pristine condition.  I'm worried that in missing out on details of what filled the toilet I might miss out on the recipe for a great new dinner dish. After all - just cause Kate tossed it doesn't mean it was bad. With morning sickness anything can come up.

Perhaps some intrepid reporter will manage to plant a microphone in the royal couple's bathroom and then we can all hear just how hard Kate has to work at the regurgitation process.  With sounds like that coming through the radio I'll know my day will be bright and sunny by comparison.

So come on, bring on the scrumptious details.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The New Drive-In

Sitting at the traffic light I had a sudden urge for popcorn.

Probably brought on by the Disney movie playing in the Dodge minivan beside me.

I've obviously not been keeping up with advances in automotive entertainment since I no longer have children to entertain while driving.  Since the return to Standard Time I've seen vans with flat screen T.V's that descend from ceilings and swivel to face any seat in the vehicle. There are vans and cars both with T.V.'s built into the back of headrests - each T.V. capable of displaying a separate DVD so that a nine year old can watch music videos while a younger child enjoys Barney.

Which brings me back to popcorn.  Maybe the next minivan accessory should be a microwave that plugs into the cigarette lighter.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Scent Travel

If Mr. Peabody had had a bottle of Coppertone sun tan lotion he wouldn't have needed a way-back machine.

Way back in my own life, Coppertone was the only game in town. So now, every time I open a bottle of Coppertone sunscreen, I am instantly transported back across fifty years on summer vacations.

The Coppertone scent takes me back to the summer houses we rented in Ocean City New Jersey. There was the second floor rental unit right next to the railroad tracks, the second floor rental on Asbury Avenue, the small house we rented on 42nd street, and weekend trips to the Sting Ray Motel.

Then of course there were the trips to the beach, morning bicycle rides on the boardwalk, dinners and amusement parks on the boardwalk, and memorable treats such as vanilla fudge and fresh squeezed orange juice.

All relived year after year courtesy of the unique scent of Coppertone.