holliday

I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in this holiday season. Mostly in the world at large.

For one, there were candy canes in the Rite Aid by Halloween.

Second, I hardly remember a heartwarming advertisement for ANYTHING Thanksgiving related...

And finally, instead of a string of cheesy and/or classic Christmas movies on loop (can you believe I had to actually SEARCH for A Christmas Story in the guide?!) it was endless reports on what a depressing shopping year it had been. Poor KMart.

Listen folks, I'm not a Christian, but wouldn't this have been a perfect opportunity to get back to the REAL meaning of the holiday? Shouldn't have that been the obvious choice, given our economic and spiritual depression?!

I DO celebrate Halloween as the new year...so to have candy canes in the aisles taking focus off of the goulish, I found offensive.

To entirely SKIP Thanksgiving, which has always been my favorite holiday of the season...was heartbreaking. My memories of Thanksgiving have always been very Normal Rockwell. I'm sure that's not the TRUTH of what was going on, but that IS the way I remember it. Driving off into the country to my Great Aunt Irene's house... Walking into her beautiful old house that was warm with love and the oven baking tasty delights! Things I could count on like Aunt Alice's sticky buns, Uncle Jim upstairs watching the game. Funny Face the cat, that old bear on wheels Jesse, the piano with the cracked soundboard. My Uncle Jerry's laugh so loud it could give you shivers. Guitars. A fireplace. I mean, give me a break?! Is that not the perfect vision of a Thanksgiving?!

I felt JIPPED by the world at large this year to have entirely skipped it. I know, it's been a tough year. I couldn't afford to travel and see my family either. No Norman Rockwell for me this year. Just my immediate family, and with the case of the stomach flu I suffered an hour or so after stuffing myself with treats...it was probably better I stayed home anyway.

Still, I thought...there's Christmas. But, if you've been paying attention to the few blogs I've been able to post (winter mode also means that my husband bogarts the computer all day)... We knew our Christmas would be lean this year, if it was possible at all.

So, we scrounged our pennies and were able to pick out the perfect tree. I gave in and let my husband have his colored lights instead of my classy white ones... We listened to my friend's custom xmas cd's which have everything from Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Sinatra, to Cheech and Chong. Roger happily jumped in his jumparoo as we hung our little decorations. It was perfect.

The only thing missing were gifts, of course. Roger got a box from Grandma, but the adults in the house had nothing. So, Santa sent us two empty boxes and an envelope with 50 cards each, decorated by hand, and instructions that we were to write things we loved about each other on each card, and then drop them into the boxes. We filled the boxes with our cards and when we woke on Christmas morning we opened our boxes and read them each out loud, mostly through sappy tears. They ranged from things like, "I love your laugh" to "I love how you push me to reach my potential." Santa had also left us an empty photo album to put our new cards in...and now we have a book of them to flip through when things get rough and we need a pick me up.

Santa also arranged to have our wedding vows printed and arranged in a big poster frame with a photo of us from our wedding day.

And by Santa, of course, I mean me. For the cost of wrapping paper and a poster frame, we had the most beautiful Christmas ever. Sure, I could have used a computer of my own under that tree, but fuck it. I know you're sitting there reading this blog with sappy tears in your eyes and WISHING you could trade in that fancy new flat screen for the gifts my husband and I exchanged!!!

All I'm saying is this, folks... I get it, the economy sucks. I'm feeling more than many of you are, I'd bet. But the holidays are SUPPOSED to be about love and family, and helping your fellow man. It broke my shriveled little grinchy heart to be so bombarded with ads about this much off of that, deals here, deals there, and how the fucking megelo-mart might go out of business if we don't hurry and buy that foot spa we've always wanted.

Seriously...I can honestly say that regardless of everything...this holiday season was one of the best of all. Last year I was alone and on bedrest. This year I have a happy and healthy son, and my loving husband here with me. Fuck your flat screen, I've got family!!!

Happy fucking new year!