Holiday bliss 2008-It's Riveting!

I am ready to write another article. Finish coloring my poetry contest illustration entry. Get my dummy out to a new publisher and enjoy the holidays while my work dries and gets reviewed. If it were just that simple.

Let me tell you what I am really doing. I am flying around town buying gifts, forgetting somebody so I will have to go the next day to the same store and retrieve yet another item.

By default or my fault for being born into my family, I hosted an impromptu Christmas at my house. It was not hosting that is bringing this tone into my writing, it is the way it was presented. It was with gnashing, twisty-double standard anger that it was thrust upon me from a loved one. Sadly, I was happy to host, even wanted this for many years. However, sometimes it really is not the gift, it is the delivery. I would have taken it more easily from a cute UPS man. Or maybe, wrapped in a gift box marked, "Be Ready". So when I opened it there would be no surprise. I would have already been donning my welding gloves, full shield mask and suit of asbestos. No there was no warning and there was no getting into it with 'her'. I just left it that if 'she' called me at 9:45am on Saturday morning (15 minutes before the party) and said, you host it I would be fine with that. Instead she had to dig the spritz gun a little deeper, seeing if she could over throw my coolly and kindly iced gingerbread exterior. The red hot smile stayed and she was out of luck. We've missed all of our holiday traditions due to illness. We scrambled some of them in at the last minute but we were stuck contending with Mother Nature and Father-in-law. The second situation was harder.

Oh and onto us a child was born. A Nephew. It is a tradition in this family that each family (4) brings one weeks worth of prepared meals to the new parents. We took this week and made four meals in between grocery shopping, seeing Santa and getting to a dinner party by 6:30pm. We were only ten minutes late, 6:40pm.

Our babysitter got the kids each a book about cats. They love cats, there are stickers. Could this 16 year old be any kinder? However, I am a heel, I got her nothing and nothing for her sister who is always willing to step in to help as a back up. I ran to the store today. Grabbed two gift cards. Pulled the car into the garage, jumped out writing a card to each sitter as the mail person was just above us on the hill and headed our way. When I returned to the box with stamps stuck and envelope licked, there was no postal truck hovering with exhaust coming out making it look like a little house in the woods. It was not down the street. Was it speedy fast? I looked in our box and there was mail there. Then I stood back a bit in the street. I contemplated for a second, then opened my neighbors mailbox, alas! nothing there! Then as I walked to my house I said the "please get there by Christmas prayer." There is something very pathetic about this prayer. It is remedial at best.

To steal a quote from the look on my dog's face, "It is always something."

AND as I write this I combat a kitten's advances to have their imposed turn on my computer. The consequence is kitty jail because as most people who know me know, I believe you can train cats. He's howling, "I take it back, I take it back!!! Please!!!" I say back in a kind and gentle voice, I know, I know."

Too bad the request for hosting the displaced Christmas party didn't go the same way or maybe it did?