December, you’ve always been a problem child. I love well beyond the majority of Sara Bareilles’s songs, but December perfectly describes this time for me. I realize the last month of the year is all about holidays and baking, family and friends, but no matter how we dress it up December is a myth. In…
Changing habits and challenging established expectations is stressful stuff, but this is my year. All the wrapping will be recycled or reusable, and all of my gifts will be local or handmade by small shops via Etsy. I will not purchase one gift from a big store. This year and every year after, I am doing…
I’m not feeling it. I know, I type this every year, but jeez why is it Christmas again? Maybe my internal calendar is off because it feels like . . . March to me. I sometimes have these fantasies of getting on a plane bound for somewhere that doesn’t care that it’s Christmas. I’m not…
I usually get lost in Christmas. The shopping is especially whirly for me. I ask my children for lists, ideas, and then I set about buying most of the things they think they need, as if Christmas is the only time I will ever be able to buy them new socks or a cozy sweater. I’m…
We went to Handel’s Messiah last weekend. I’m completely in love with our symphony’s conductor. He moves his whole body, lets the music flow through him. He’s not just a tux and a stick. He’s more and I like that. Plus his name is Tito, so there’s that. We go to Handel’s every year. I’m not…
Our Christmas tree fell off the roof of our car. Things are rarely as I envision them, but this, this was a first. It rumbled, tugged, and then fell right off. Tree flying in the rear view mirror, Griswold, but not funny, not a movie. This has never happened and I of course wonder if it is some kind…
We had our Christmas picture professionally taken for the first time. Actually, it was the first time we have had professional photos as a family. Let’s say that we are more of a candid shot kind of crowd. We have taken our own Christmas picture in front of our tree, timer set, someone running, every year, but…
I had to go to shopping yesterday. Time was running out and things just had to be done. I went to an outdoor shopping area, so it wasn’t the horrible mall yucky that I make a point to avoid every year. As I was finishing up and walking toward my car, there was a man…
I like to wrap presents. It’s my favorite part of gift giving. There’s nothing like finding that perfect gift, but some years nothing really clicks. The wrapping is what’s consistent for me. The time spent putting together a surprise for someone is always special. The details say something and I have been know to create…