No, No Noel!

Christmas has come and gone and the presents have been opened.  Little Sweet Pea was SO excited about the Christmas tree when we put it up and then the subsequent presents that she practically camped under the tree.

Each day she has insisted that we turn on the lights (usually from mid-morning on) and I often have observed her heading over to the tree to look at the ornaments.  Many times she has "redistributed" them more to her liking.  Today she was playing with a stuffed kitten and she was cradling it in her arms saying, "Don't be sad, kitty.  Mika take you to look at the Christmas tree."  Off she'd go with the kitten and they'd stand in front of the tree.

That's why we waited until she had gone to bed before we started the sad job of packing away the decorations.

There is just a bittersweet feeling when it comes time to put the holiday decorations away yet again.  It seems to magnify the passing of time.  It also reminds me that the kids, including little Sweet Pea and Spud, will be heading back home to Texas tomorrow.

Off came the lights, the screws were loosened on the tree stand and then the Commander and son toted our tree out the door and to the curb while I grabbed the broom to sweep up the pine needles.  After they came inside and had been carrying the ornament boxes out to the porch, I noticed some marks on the floor.  Hmm, I figured the dog had maybe upchucked a bit in the past few days and so I went to grab some floor cleaner and paper towels.

No sooner was I bent over, spraying, and wiping then our son came inside holding one shoe and said, "Hey, Mom....I think I stepped in dog s___t when I took the tree out and I might have tracked it around inside the house.  Can I have a paper towel and I'll clean off my shoe in the kitchen?"

"Crap," I said.  "You get outside with that.  You're not cleaning it inside the house."

Yup, sometimes taking down the holiday decorations is just a sh__tty proposition whichever way you look at it.

A Nativity Fusion

Little Sweet Pea's birthday is right before Christmas so what nicer gift could she receive than a Little Tikes Nativity Set from her Aunt Rose and Uncle John?  We all thought it would be a wonderful way for her to envision the joys of the Christmas story.  It worked.....sort of.

She was delighted with the gift and immediately began to play with it as we talked about the different parts/people in the set and what part they played in the Christmas story.

Our first inkling that THIS Nativity scene would be her own special version came when we realized that Baby Jesus was crammed into the cow's stall and the sheep were given the place of honor in the main part of the stable.

When we had pulled Baby Jesus out of the box, her mommy had asked her, "Do you know who this is?"

"Mary," she promptly replied.  Well....there WAS a connection there, at least.

The actual Mary was soon relegated to the top of the stable next to the feeding trough, joining one of the angels.

She was soon joined by a shepherd and at several points by some wise men, although they were usually holding court over in the fields with some of the sheep.  Hmm, were we seeing a mash-up of "Away in a Manger" and "Up On a Rooftop?"

The Wise Men were demoted from riding camels to tending the donkey cart while their regal tent was taken over by Mika's stuffed kitten.

At one point, the kitten fell asleep, a Wise Man was knocked over by a sheep trying to play King of the Hill, and an angel was wandering around in the barnyard wondering where the shepherds had run off to because she had a Heavenly message to deliver.

Through it all, Mary kept her composure although from a more elevated angle than during the original event and Mika had a wonderful evening immersed in the magic of a Christmas birth that changed the world.  She may be putting her own unique spin on things now but as she continues to grow and be nurtured in the Christian faith, she'll continue to find this to be a much-beloved toy set.  Thanks, Aunt Rose and Uncle John!

Hanging on to Christmas

It was a strange Christmas this year with me on one side of the world with part of my family and the Commander and the rest of my family back on the other side of the world.  I wasn't even around to put up any Christmas decorations.  So I can't really be faulted for wanting to enjoy the few decorations that my hubby put up in my absence just a little bit longer, right?

OK, it DID strike me as I went out today to get the mail out of the mailbox that maybe our house is more the exception than the rule here in our neighborhood.  I didn't really notice any others nearby that still had Christmas trees in the front yard and one in the window.  But I think it gives things a rather festive air, don't you?

The Commander even put the front yard decorations on a timer this year and it's nice to come out into the living room at dusk and see the little trees lit up when I look out the window.  We're still getting snow so it's not like they're crowding out the tulips and crocuses.

The indoor Christmas tree is small and takes up hardly any space at all.  I like to snuggle up on the couch with the dog, turn on the gas fireplace and then ponder a spell while I enjoy my little tree.  I'll probably have to take it down soon though, because I'm hosting a women's luncheon next week and I'll need the space to fit all the women in the room.

So I'm just going to indulge myself one more week while I hang onto Christmas a bit longer.  I'll finish up the Christmas newsletter, too, drink a cup of seasonally-flavored coffee, and play some carols on the piano.  I'll get a little maudlin thinking of Christmases that have come and gone and then it will be time to start dreaming of Spring.

Christmas in Paradise

Lombok and Christmas....it's hard to believe that today is Christmas, at least in this part of the world as I look out over a vista of banana trees, palm trees, and bird of paradise plants.  The resort here consists of a huge main lodge with various restaurants, a fitness lounge, a gorgeous pool, meeting room, and tennis courts all located right on the beach and then you walk across the street to grounds where there are the lodgings.  Each building appears to have two units taking up a complete floor.

We are staying in the upper floor of one of the units and have a living area, kitchen and eating area, and two bedrooms complete with bathrooms.  Our friend, Lina and I are in one bedroom and Jason, Laura and Mika are in the other bedroom.

When we arrived at the resort, we were greeted by very attentive employees everywhere.  As Laura checked us in, an employee came around with a tray of complimentary fruit drinks for us.  It was wonderful, especially since we were all pretty parched and the baby was hot, feverish, and cranky.  I had the chance to sit and skim through an English-language newspaper in the lobby which was my first chance at seeing any news since my arrival here.  I REALLY miss my daily newspaper at home so this was a real treat.  Then another employee came to load our luggage on a trolley and lead us across the street to our unit.  Once there, he showed us how to operate the air conditioning units and then he was on his way.

Now that we've had a few days here, we've been enjoying the wonderful breakfast buffet that's included in the stay.  They even make up omelets to order, have waffles with syrup, and croissants with mango jam, plus the usual assortment of Asian noodle dishes that folks in this part of the world enjoy for breakfast.  Lunch and dinners are another treat.  The waiters or waitresses hover over us, waiting to cater to our every whim....even putting our napkins on our laps.  Wow!

The pool is a thing of beauty.  It's comprised of several levels and surrounded by chairs for lounging and umbrellas for those of us who aren't sun worshippers.  You can still enjoy a view of the ocean from poolside.

 Here's the view as you walk out the front of the main lodge  Aren't those mountains gorgeous?  We walk across the street to get to our apartment.  The views are absolutely breathtaking.

The resort has been playing Christmas songs since we arrived.  It has been nice to sing along as we eat on the patios scattered around the main lobby.  This is the main mural that greeted us at the main lobby.  Get a load of this reindeer.  I think I would have had nightmares as a kid if I had seen him arriving on my roof.

We have decorated a little tree in our apartment and have little stockings on the table next to it.  Today we are going to be reading the Christmas story, watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on one of the laptops, and we've been singing Christmas carols together.  Last evening, our Christmas Eve, Mika, Lina and I danced merrily around the apartment to music, including our one and only Christmas song on Lina's mp3 (a Mariah Carey Christmas song).  Mika LOVED dancing and directing the fun.

So to all of you from all of us, may you have a very blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year from our little corner of the world.

In Defense of the Christmas Newsletter

Well, I'm done with the annual Christmas newsletter. The cards have all been addressed and stuffed and are in the mail. That's always a chore that I'm happy to see to completion because the whole shebang has a tendency to take over our dining room table and my free time until it's done.

I used to try to write a handwritten note in each card in addition to including our newsletter but have finally decided, in the interest of expediency and my sanity, that the newsletter is enough. My mother would groan at this since she always insisted that you had to write "the note" but I'm breaking free from that expectation. "I'm not writing the note, Ma!"

Speaking of my mom, it was always a BIG production at our house when I was growing up as my mother would try to get the Christmas cards out on time. Inevitably, they'd make it into the mail by Easter. It's because she had to write in every card, you see. First Mom would agonize over writing her newsletter. She wanted to make sure that no one was left out in the mentions no matter how insignificant a part they had played in our year. Then she'd want to make sure that her grammar was "spot-on." Once I could type, she'd keep me busy for weeks typing up the rewrites. When the time finally came to address the cards, we'd all gather at the dining room table and form an assembly line. Whoever had the neatest handwriting would address the envelopes. Mom would reread her notes and then pass the card to the newsletter folder and stuffer . That person would neatly fold the newsletter and place it inside the card. It was then passed on to the envelope addresser who put the card into the envelope, licked the back flap and sealed it. Finally it was handed to the stamp licker who licked the stamp and placed it neatly in the upper right-hand corner and then gave it a good pop with their fist. No one wanted to be the lickers but since there were only four of us, two always got stuck with those tasks and usually ended up green around the gills because Mom typically sent out 200 - 300 cards every year. God bless the Post Office for inventing peel-off stamps.
Despite my early memories of the family newsletter, I've been sending out my own Christmas newsletters ever since I left home. I like doing them and it has become fun for me to see how I can come up with different and creative ways to get out the news to family and friends. This year, in addition to our newsletter, I made up two photo collages using my Storybook Creator photo editing software and sent them off with the cards. I think it's always fun to see how other folks have changed over the year.....to see how their kids have grown up. I don't care whether the photos are xeroxed onto a newsletter or actual photos. I just enjoy them either way.

I know that there are people who deplore getting Christmas newsletters. Let me just say that I am not one of them. I love opening up a Christmas card and seeing a newsletter tucked inside full of all sorts of events that have taken place in folks' lives over the past year. For many, that's the only contact I have with you each year, simply because you've moved out of the area or live too far away to visit and your lives are too busy to write or call on a regular basis. This is my chance to stay connected with you. It is so disappointing to open a card from a friend or relative who lives far away and only see a signature. I'd almost rather not get a card at all.

So I'm begging you all.....do that Christmas letter this year. It doesn't have to be handwritten. Typed up on the computer and printed off and copied is fine. The important thing is that it contains news of what you've been up to. And if you want to email it to people instead of mailing it, that's fine, too. Either way, you're moving beyond the cursory and sharing a part of yourself this Christmas season. And if your letters are late and don't make it out until Easter? Hey, you'll just be increasing my joy this Easter season.

And Then I Was Five

I was bustling around the living room, putting up Christmas decorations when I unearthed the old fiberboard creche in the bottom of a box. It was folded up and stored in a ziploc bag but I could see that most of the pieces were still there. For several years now I'd passed it over in favor of a spiffy 3-dimensional folk art creche designed by Jim Shore. But this year, for some reason, the new and spectacular didn't appeal to me. I wanted to see the old creche again.

I remembered my mother telling me that it had come from Germany which had linked it forever in my mind with the story of the origins of the carol "Silent Night." Franz Gruber and Father Mohr had composed the piece in Austria but it had been sung in German and I had learned it in German as a child. Hence my connecting the piece with Germany.

Each creche piece has a slot in the bottom that fits into a corresponding pop-up tab on the base. The tabs have become limp over the years and some of the figures tend to list a little but they are still standing. Originally, we had a Christmas tree light that was carefully fitted into the hole of the stable roof and my father would plug that light in at night. Its glow would flood the stable with a radiant light. The stable is so rickety now that I don't dare try putting a light on the roof but I still remember it.

I decided to set it up on top of the old china cabinet. That way it would be right at eye-level and out of the dog's reach. First I put down the base and then set up the two background pieces. The walls of the stable came next. The walls had originally been all one piece but one wall had torn off. However, if I balanced it just right and then put the roof on, it would stay upright.

Once the stable was intact, I carefully positioned the back fence with the donkey and the cow looking over the rail. That had always been my favorite part growing up because of our dairy farm background. It was a particularly handsome cow.

The shepherds and the sheep were the next to be positioned. I noticed that the set was missing a shepherd and a sheep, according to the labeled tabs, but I still had enough so that they looked well-represented. Funny, I had never noticed before that the older shepherd was carrying a type of bagpipe....one of my favorite instruments.

I vaguely recalled that bagpipes had not been the sole invention of the Scots. Perhaps the Germans had also used some type of bagpipe in their musical celebrations?

Then it was time to place the Wise Men. As I slipped them into their tabs, I thought of the gifts they had brought to the Christ child, each gift foretelling the baby's future role and even, death. Gold symbolized Christ's kingship, frankincense stood for the anointing oil of the priesthood and myrrh was an embalming oil used at death. Thank God the death was only temporary or we wouldn't have much reason to put up a creche scene, would we? The artist responsible for designing this creche had included a black Wise Man. According to Medieval legend, Balthasar came from Ethiopia and was often depicted as an African or Moor.

Once everyone was in place, including the Holy Family, a curious thing happened. Suddenly I was five years old again.....looking at the creche and filled with all the wonder I had first felt as a child. I walked over to the china cabinet and grasped its curved top. I was just tall enough that my eyes were able to peak over the top of the cabinet and I could look straight into the stable.

I didn't see the tabs holding the figures upright. I didn't see the gaps where there had been other figures. What I did see were figures off in the distance on winding roads in the background hurrying towards the stable. I saw a little shepherd boy who probably didn't have much, bringing his lamb to offer to the child. I saw a mother gazing with pride and wonder at her newborn and Joseph, standing protectively beside them. Even the animals seemed to sense that something extraordinary was in their presence. I, too felt the extraordinary. Daddy was in his chair in the corner, reading the Sunday paper. Mom was in the kitchen working on the pork roast and John was napping in his crib. And I,.....I was standing on my tiptoes so that I could see over the top of the table where the creche scene was displayed.

"Baby Jesus is coming," I whispered, wiggling with excitement. "Baby Jesus is coming."