Christmas in my family was always a big deal. I should say a BIG DEAL. Big dinners, lots and lots of booze, sweets (generally flaming puddings) and presents. Lots of presents. My father, a man who was normally pretty low-key and fuss-free for 353 days of the year, whipped the entire family into a frenzy of decorating and festivities during the 12 days of Christmas. Thanksgiving weekend the outside of the house was decorated with colored lights and electric luminaries. As soon as the tree lots opened my dad would be scoping them out looking for just the right one - always getting a douglas fir that filled more than half of the family room. He painstakingly placed way too many lights and ornaments on the tree. Every year my dad managed talking my mom out of stringing garlands on the tree and instead dripping silver tinsel (which she hated) all over the already heavily decorated tree. And every year my mom cursed as the vacuum clearer got clogged with silver tinsel and pine needles promising to everyone within ear shot that next year the tree would have garlands, not this damn tinsel. My dad always made multiple trips to Walgreens to get another box or two of "unique" ornaments to add to the tree. New year's day my dad sadly packed up the Christmas decorations but, he would make sure to date the new ornament boxes and list everyone who celebrated the season with us - including the pets. So that every year the unpacking of decorations was a diary of Christmases past.
Sooooo..... it is with quite a bit of guilt that I say I had a nice quiet Christmas and really enjoyed it. My mom, my nephew and me had Christmas dinner at La Fonda restaurant in Santa Fe.
Dad died about 8 years ago. It doesn't seem that long ago and I manage to miss him more as each year passes. If dad were still around asking me to come to Walgreens and pick out a new box of ornaments or string lights and luminaries or pick out a humongous tree then, I am sure I wouldn't feel the need to have a "nice quiet Christmas".
Thanks dad (Budgie) for the great memories of Christmas past. Love you.
"Maybe I can (& will?) post a blog about something besides school...... might be interesting." famous last words, October 14——the last mention of skool is November 22! i bet it's hard to get an entry in here when skool's in session. it's hard for me to keep up with _reading_ it when i'm in session. i am now at last not in session! whiew. it is nice to read yer words susan. this is a beautiful display of life as it should be. bless you. and go, girl! i can honestly say i've now read it all and look fwd to thuh next.
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