Time is a ticking!

Merrrryyyyy  Christmas, Readers!  Countdown to Christmas continues from my comfy chair in my room in Florida!!  Last Christmas, I found a clock at Tuesday Morning that played Christmas carols on the hour.  The sales clerk warned me that the clocks had been returned by many a buyer saying that they couldn't get them to work.  I figured for $9.99, it was worth a try.  I took my bargain home with me and for once read the directions before hanging it up on the wall.  The directions were confusing at best and I could understand why the clocks had been returned.  I was determined to hear the songs and kept at it until the clock was ticking joyfully.  The songs were wonderful ... so wonderful that I couldn't bear to take the clock down after Christmas.  It's still hanging in the living room and still entertaining me.  One year later, it reminds me that Christmas is getting close one tick and carol at a time.

I have people who think I am the proverbial bright eyed optimist 24/7.  That's true most of the time but today, my allergies are eating my lunch ... My nose is running, eyes itching, and I am coughing til my throat hurts.  My body is aching from the fibromyalgia and, I am just feeling rather yuk.  Now, that being said, I am looking forward to a fun day with my Florida family.  I usually allow myself a measured amount of self-pity time then take out the wa wa wa tapes and put in some peppy music.  It's time...

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...  How can you not remember Burl Ives singing this song?  Or, Grandma/Mama Got Run Over by a Reindeer?  Hmmm ... my children loved to pester me with this song.  In fact, they loved to get in my face and sing quite loudly until I chased them around the house finally catching them and giving them Christmas hugs.  Crazy kids ... when I think about it, Jane and Tommy still love to pester me!  I loved it then and love it now!

  

Deck the Halls...  As I have mentioned in my blogs, I am a sentimental sap and most things in my home have a story behind them and meaning to me.  The Christmas decorations are no different.  When I open my tubs in the month of November, it's like being a kid opening gifts with precious long awaited treasures.  There are my nutcrackers, santas, elves, fairies, ornaments, and candles.  I'm always surprised because I sometimes forget what I have added new in the previous year.  This year was kind of odd to me.  Since the main house is on the market, I didn't decorate it for Christmas sticking just to the little casa.  There aren't as many places to display my treasures so many of them were left carefully wrapped in their tissue paper.

A Christmas to Remember...  Many of you who have followed my blogs know that Hamilton Elf came to live with me last Christmas.  I've written two stories about him and it is my goal in 2012 to at least get the first one published.  Since I've not written a book for publishing before, it's taken me a long time to figure out how to go about this.  My son in law, Tim, and I were having lunch at Panera Bread Company last week and the lady sitting at the table next to us had her laptop out and a large box sitting beside her.  As we got up, I noticed that she had a stack of children's books in the box.  I introduced myself and asked her if she was an author.  Yippee!  She was.  She gave me the address of her publisher and was quite encouraging.  I looked them up on the Internet and there was a wealth of information.  Thank you, Lord!!  I just got the information forwarded to my email address so I have pages to muddle through when I get back to Texas.

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire...  When I was in England, I enjoyed the chestnuts being roasted on the street corners.  I think that I liked the picture of the men dressed rather drably standing over a barrel selling their roasted treats more than the foreign taste of these morsels.  It was a cold day and the heat from the chestnuts warmed my gloves as well as my tummy.  I asked the vendor how to eat them and he just laughed at me.  I must say, the food there was "different" at best and it was one vacation that I lost weight rather than add those few extra pounds of tasty samplings.

Frosty the snowman... Don't you just love the snow.  As a kid, I couldn't wait for the first snowfall.  I would rush outside and the first thing I would do is build a snowman to mark the beginning of Winter.  Minnesota winters could get pretty darn cold.  Often times, my snowman would last for weeks.  We don't get snow that often in Texas but when we do, everything shuts down and children as well as adults are out slipping, sliding, and making their own versions of snowmen.  Toby and Sadie just love to romp through the fresh flakes and I love to watch them try to catch the snow on their tongues.

Silent night... Silent night.  Even the quiet of Christmas brings joy and a time of introspection.  There are times I like to go outside at dusk and gaze up into the heavens.  I can see my breath against the darkness and pull my coat tight about me.  It's nights like this that I sometimes put a pile of Pinon Wood into the chiminea and get lost in the dancing fire before me thinking of the times my I trod on the packed snow beneath my feet the cold stinging my lungs.

Do You Hear What I Hear???  Everywhere I go, I am reminded of Christmas.  Songs being played as Christmas lights blink in unison to the music, folks whispering about what to buy for family and friends, tales of Christmas's of long long ago, the ringing bells of the Salvation Army...  I also read the newspapers and take in the nightly news.  Besides the brightness of the Christmas Season there is also a dark side looming.  There are people out of work, those struggling to make ends meet, and children whose stockings will be empty this Christmas morning.   Like many others, my family is also feeling the pressure of today's down turned economy.  I struggle with wanting to give more than I should and do more than I ought.

So This Is Christmas...  Yes, this is Christmas 2011.  As my son would say, "It is what it is."  It is Christmas and Christmas will be what my family and I make of it.  For sure, I know that we will be sitting in churches in Florida and Texas worshipping the Babe in the manger.  For sure, we will be gathering separately yet together in knowing that we are family.  I will be cooking Christmas Dinner in my new kitchen at the little casa filling the air with all smells and goodies that mean Christmas.  Michael and I will visit Mom in the nursing home and bring her "Santy Claus" presents.  Her eyes will light up as she opens the little doo dads in her stocking and she will get tears in her eyes saying, "You are so good to me."  Our neighbors, Beverly and Don, don't have children so we will invite them over, thanking God for all they have meant to us this past year.

Christmas will be everything it should be and that gives me a sense of peace.  I wish I could capture those times growing up as my family traveled to Bestemor's home and to my Grandmother Belle's farm and later on to my Aunt Sis's home.  It was all about family then ... for better or worse!

May your days be merry and bright...  Always know that you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU

PS:  Note to me and you ... if your Christmas's have been all things material, what happens when money is scarce?  Will your Christmas be bleak and meaningless?  If all you have is your joy of a Savior and each other is that enough to make your Christmas the best ever??  Good food for thought!!