Dec. 24th, 2007
A Christmas to remember
Dec. 24th, 2007 10:57 pmThe kids are back with their mom. The dinner dishes sit in the sink, waiting for tomorrow and renewed energy to deal with. Anthony Bourdain is on television waxing poetic about New York city and being a chef. And I'm back in front of my computer, full from dinner, happy from hanging with my kids, and satisfied that I made something out of what could have been nothing.
After I picked-up the kids, we came back here and did breakfast. Then we went to Walmart and got some hooks for the ornaments and came back here and the girls helped me decorate the tree. They had a lot of fun doing that, so maybe we'll try it again next year
It's sometimes problematic to remember that money is a means and not an ends when you don't have any, or not much of any to spare. It's sometimes way too easy to get caught-up in the quantification of the physical things. Today was a nice reminder that it's definitely the thought that counts. Of course, thoughts that become physical realities tend to granted a higher tally.
I mentioned to my sister that my daughter Sam had wanted the new Hannah Montana CD. While I have been strict about keeping a lot of current pop and hip-hop music from her as way of shielding her from the less-than-role-models involved, I figured that Miley Cyrus was comparatively tame (So far). My sister came through, and my daughter was delighted. That single gift more than made-up for the lack of stacks of others. And I owe my sister more thanks than I can say.
Don't get me wrong, they each got a few gifts, plus stuff from my sister and my parents sent gift cards for Toys-r-Us. But my sister really took the top honors for all three of them this year.
I managed to pull off a decent dinner. Nothing burned, everyone ate their full, and I have a few days' worth of left-overs. I sent what was left of the chocolate cream pie back with them to give to their brothers, much to their moms's surprise. It's nice that I can still manage that once in awhile, I suppose.
Tomorrow will be a nice lazy day. Sleeping in late, spending the day in my jammies, and eating Christmas left-overs all day long. Of the 42 Christmas celebrations I've had in my life, there have been those that were bigger, involved more food, more family, more presents, and more to do. There have also been those with more drama, more emotional-upset, more contention, and more sorrow. Between those extremes squarely sits this year's Christmas, and that may have been the best Chirstmas gift I've gotten yet.
After I picked-up the kids, we came back here and did breakfast. Then we went to Walmart and got some hooks for the ornaments and came back here and the girls helped me decorate the tree. They had a lot of fun doing that, so maybe we'll try it again next year
It's sometimes problematic to remember that money is a means and not an ends when you don't have any, or not much of any to spare. It's sometimes way too easy to get caught-up in the quantification of the physical things. Today was a nice reminder that it's definitely the thought that counts. Of course, thoughts that become physical realities tend to granted a higher tally.
I mentioned to my sister that my daughter Sam had wanted the new Hannah Montana CD. While I have been strict about keeping a lot of current pop and hip-hop music from her as way of shielding her from the less-than-role-models involved, I figured that Miley Cyrus was comparatively tame (So far). My sister came through, and my daughter was delighted. That single gift more than made-up for the lack of stacks of others. And I owe my sister more thanks than I can say.
Don't get me wrong, they each got a few gifts, plus stuff from my sister and my parents sent gift cards for Toys-r-Us. But my sister really took the top honors for all three of them this year.
I managed to pull off a decent dinner. Nothing burned, everyone ate their full, and I have a few days' worth of left-overs. I sent what was left of the chocolate cream pie back with them to give to their brothers, much to their moms's surprise. It's nice that I can still manage that once in awhile, I suppose.
Tomorrow will be a nice lazy day. Sleeping in late, spending the day in my jammies, and eating Christmas left-overs all day long. Of the 42 Christmas celebrations I've had in my life, there have been those that were bigger, involved more food, more family, more presents, and more to do. There have also been those with more drama, more emotional-upset, more contention, and more sorrow. Between those extremes squarely sits this year's Christmas, and that may have been the best Chirstmas gift I've gotten yet.