CHRISTMAS REVISITED

There are so many things about Christmas that sneak up on me. Just when I think I have it all done, something pops up that I realize I had forgotten. Like the extra tip for my nails lady or for the bartender and waiters at the club where we belong. And you can’t just write a check out to them either; how gauche is that? You have to go to the bank and get nice crisp bills and then get an appropriate card to go along with the gift. So I find myself, in spite of my best efforts, running around doing last minute things.

Now my sisters, especially MA, have it all together. They shop all year long and by the time October rolls around, they are done. I can just see MA making a list that she probably keeps from year to year and checking it all off as each thing is done. Me, I keep it all in my head, and that’s why things sneak up on me.

I am enjoying myself this year. I said in my first blog about Christmas that I was going to concentrate on the spiritual part of Christmas, and I have. I have listened to the Messiah and other favorite songs, and I have decorated a little at a time. When little things come up, like last night when Fernando, the bartender, told us that he was leaving for Chile in two days to visit his 98 year old mother, I don’t panic. I will just go to the bank today and tonight we will have another meal at the club, something I always enjoy.

One thing that has helped me tremendously this year is that I did something I had been meaning to for a long time. I organized my closets. For two weeks we had piles of stuff upstairs sitting around the bedrooms and hall while I decided what to do with all of it. And now it is almost finished. I can’t express in words how much better I feel because of that finished job. I still have the downstairs closets to do, but I’ve learned something. It’s okay to take my time and not feel like I have to do it all in one day. Of course, we have to put up with a little mess while I organize it all, but it is soooo worth it when I get through.

So now all I have to do is plan the Christmas Eve dinner for all the in town folks (about ten of us) and finish shopping and then get ready for New Year’s Eve with the sisters and husbands. That’s the part I really like about this time of year - - -entertaining and being entertained. And speaking of that, I have to mention my Christmas attire for this year.

While Rufus was getting groomed at a Petsmart in a shopping mall, I wandered into a department store that is known for its cheap prices. But usually, the quality is not so good, so I don’t do much shopping there. This time, however, I just happened to notice a bright red satin top with jewels around the square neckline. Since it was only $15.00, I bought it. I have worn that red top to every party we have been to because the parties have not had the same people at them. I’ve had to hand wash it each time, but I don’t know when I have ever gotten so many compliments on an outfit. I have dressed it up with black velvet pants and satin heels or down with plain black pants and flats. Of course, it helped to still have a little tan, but I will wear it one more time on Christmas Eve. Isn’t it funny how you can search and search for something to wear and then you come across a bargain like that?

So, up to this point, I am happy to say that the Christmas season has been good this year. I’m not just waiting for it to be over and done with – I’m actually enjoying it and living each day as it comes.