Packers Rout Bears, 23-7. Now THAT is the way to end the year!
Archive for December, 2006
2006: The good, the bad, the gains, the losses
Gains:
3 pounds
scar on my arm
“new” minivan
“new” friend JP
step grandaughter
a better atmosphere in our neighborhood
a pain-free husband
Losses:
Ipod radio transmitter
digital camera
kidney stone
the desire to never be called grandma even though I’m only 41
our insane next door neighbors
tumor from D’s neck
Rolling Stones Update
They say the “stone” may be the size of a grain of sand. No, no, no. It was the size of a boulder! With many jagged edges! But I think the fucker is out, and there best not be any more.
A Few Dream Jobs of Mine
1. Alcohol Store owner
2. Nail polish and lipstick namer
3. Bookstore owner
4. Librarian
New Year’s Resolutions
Ask and ye shall receive! I’ve been thinking about trying to improve my health a bit, eat less junk, drink more water, all the usual stuff. And behold, a miracle:
I have kidney stones. I am in so much pain that I WISH I were giving birth because that was a walk in the park. I am drinking so much water that the Great Lakes are noticeably more shallow. And I am so nauseous that the mere idea of food leads me to the bathroom.
Another miracle: Another new invention! (Internet – this idea is MINE!) Bathrooms with toilets that face each other. That solves the pesky dilemma of what to do when you are trying (unsuccessfully) to pee, and are faced with the sudden, no-denying-it urge to throw up.
Life is good.
Miss Jackson If You’re Nasty
Different sites I’ve visited in the last week in a futile effort to gain control of my life:
It’s not working.
Sweet sounds
It is such a relief to no longer feel obligated to listen to Christmas music.
Endings and Quarterbacks
As I write this, I am watching what could be the last game of Brett Favre. I am thinking about the difficulty of making a decision that might be the right decision, but not necessarily the one you want to make. Say you’re Brett Favre. You love playing. It’s been in your life for years. You enjoy it. It makes you feel a certain way – it gives you lots of positive reinforcement. But also, when people ask you if you are still playing, they ask it with a certain tone, that not-so-subtle “you’re not STILL playing, are you?”, making clear their feelings on the matter. You know your family is important, you know your family should be what comes first – it IS what matters most to you. But the allure of the game is still there, calling you.
You decide to hang it up, to say good bye. To say, Football, I loved you. You have given much to me, made me who I am. But I need to let you go, so you can go on to be the high level game you are supposed to be. I need to help you, and I need to help myself. I need to say good bye, to relinquish my desire for you, and wriggle out of your hold on me.
It is hard, and it is not necessarily what I want. But I have to let this Quarterback go. Go, Brett, go. I will miss you, but you and I both know we will be better off for me letting you go, for you leaving.
Christmas Traditions Two: The Matriarchy
When I was a child, we had some fairly strict routines. Christmas eve we were allowed to open one small gift. One gift only. No more. It was always a gift picked out by my mother, and it was never a really fun gift. It was more often a pair of pajamas, or a diary.
Christmas morning my brother and sister and I would meet up in the hallway, and then wake my parents. We had to brush our teeth, put on slippers AND a robe, comb our hair, and then we were allowed in the room where the tree and presents were. After tearing through the gifts, we would get dressed and go to mass.
Two or three times during my youth we drove to Chicago to spend Christmas with my aunt and uncle and five cousins. They did things completely backwards. They would open all of their presents Chrismas eve. What the? While I am sure I enjoyed the feast of goodies on the eve, I distinctly remember being 7 or so, at mass with them on Christmas morning, feeling deflated. What was the point? How was this even a special day, this “Christmas”, if we were not getting any presents?
Now that I have kids, Christmas is done MY way. We go to mass on Christmas Eve (the children’s mass in the late afternoon.) Mind you, we only go because my parents insist on going, but it’s really not that bad. It’s barely a mass at all; it’s all toddlers cruising up the aisles, and kids singing out of tune and doing the nativity scene. Then we go to my sister’s house for dinner (Barbeque and potato chips. Always.) and they get to open one gift. My mother still indulges me and my sister and lets us each also open one gift. I must admit, I still love that.
Christmas morning is the one time of the year when GMan is nice to his sister. They get up, put on robes and slippers, brush their teeth, and then we allow them to come downstairs. Chaos ensues, and a warm, lovely time is had by the four of us.
Tonight we had dinner with my parents and we got to talking about those Christmases past. DTE said that his family was Presents On Christmas Eve family. My dad said that his was too. My mother said hers was ALWAYS on Christmas morning, and the kids couldn’t come down until their teeth were brushed, hair was combed, and slippers and robes were on. Hmmm. Sounds familiar.
I realized with great joy that this passing on of Christmas traditions seems to follow the women. My aunt (my dad’s sister) did what she knew, and it followed to her family. My dad, however, had to give up his tradition in favor of my mothers. My husband gave up his in favor of mine. I love the matriarchy.
What’s the consensus out there? Is there a consensus? Whose traditions do you follow, or have you combined some of each? Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Are there any other options?
Keith
Happy Birthday to one of my idols:
He meant many things to me during a very difficult time in my life. It sounds overly dramatic, but he helped me get through it. Here’s to you, mate!
http://www.keithrichards.com/index_flash.html
Many thanks to Blue Lena
