Hi whoever you are --- It's the day after Christmas and other than a total meltdown for about an hour on Christmas Eve, I seem to have come through it in one piece.
Had a really nice Christmas Day with my friend and her family - laid back, cozy, two kids (9 and 6) making a mess, Sex and the City Part II, good food --- very nice.
But I got home around 10:30 to a voice mail message from one of the three God children who were coming here for Christmas today. "Did you hear about the blizzart, the Nor'easter that's going to hit tomorrow afternoon? I don't think it's going to be drivable weather. Can we maybe do it earlier in the day, so long as I can leave while it's still daylight."
Well, I thought about the fondue (cheese and chocolate) dinner I had planned, all the decorations which really look best at night, and how brief a time it would be with him and his sister (two of the three God chidren) --- another meltdown. This was the Christmas I was counting on - the day that would get me through all the previous ones. And now Mother Nature was going to ruin it? Stamped my feet and held my breath for a few minutss and then decided to try to be adult about things.
Let me digress for a minute - my first reaction to his message was that he was using the storm to lessen or limit the amount of time he (and his sister) would have to spend with me. It took me a while to realize that I was putting my motives on him because that's exactly what I used to do when I was living in NYC. The day before Thanksgiving I'd pray for severe weather so I wouldn't have to go home for Thanksgiving - both because I didn't particularly want to and because I loved loved loved goint to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Going home for Christmas was harder to get out of, regardless of weather, and I never did spend a Christmas anywhere by home until the last of "home" passed away (my mother in '86).
But many Thanksgivings found me happily staying in the city, eating with friends and hanging out at the Tap-A-Keg (our favorite home away from home on 76th and Columbus). It was Cheers long before there was a Cheers. Almost everything we did included the Tap-A-Keg. Either meeting there to go somewhere else, of capping off an evening of being somewhere else, or not going anywhere, just staying there ... Bored? Let's to to the Tap. Happy? Let's go to the Tap. Sad? Come on, let's go to the Tap, that'll cheer you up. Celebration? Well, what else? Let's celebrate at the Tap.
Boy, did I digress. Getting back onto point.
Spenser and I did a bit of calling back and forth, with him checking in with his sister (Kelley) and moved our Christmas to tomorrow night. Once I knew what the two of them were doing and stopped having a temper tantrum about a snow storm, I called Elizabeth (God child #3, actually my first born God child, but #3 for purposes of this posting) to see if she could do tomorrow night. Unfortunately, no. But she wanted to do tonight (until I told her about the coming deluge about which she had not heard a word). So, she came over around Noon and we had a lovely day. She left about 5pm to beat the storm.
Now - about this storm. It danged well better be a biggie. It seems to be coming in weaker than the "warnings" all over the TV. I want to see at least 10" when I wake up tomorrow morning.
My worst fear right now is that it is coming slower than expected and will hamper travel tomorrow night. Then I swear I will become violent. Don't know quite how to inflict pain upon Mother Nature, but believe me I'll think of a way.
As things are right now, it's a bit sad I won't have all 3 tomorrow, but having a lovely day with Elizabeth today and then Spenser and Kelley tomorrow night did spread things out a bit for me. And if there are weather problems tomorrow everning I'm going to the nearest skating rink, hijacking a Zamboni and going to get them.
I hope that all of you who celebrate Christmas had a wonderful one - for others I hope your Channukah was warm and cozy, your Kwanza everything that you wanted it to be and that any other celebratory activities brought you comfort and happiness.
Talk to whoever of you who is out there soon.
hey, you . Well, I can't imagine myself doing a blog. This s my first shot at posting on a blog. Call me and let me know if you get this. Somehow though it seems less intimidating to write into cyberspace. If I imagined my writing in the old fashioned way, printed and on someone's bookshelf, NOT getting read, it was too depressing. But thinking of this writing going out into where ever this goes-it's easier to imagine no one read my words because the words are lost in space, and no one can find them.
ReplyDeleteRE: impulse buying...didn't you buy your '99 Forester the same way? You are one of the most generous folks I know, and I, for one, don't think feeling good about giving stuff to others diminishes the generosity one iota.