Friday, December 27, 2013

CHRISTMAS REVIEW

Christmas turned out fine, as I knew it would despite the turmoil the previous day.  It turned into a small family gathering with our core family together ~ the four of us sharing a meal before we headed over to visit and do Christmas with my eldest son.

It was fun knowing I had to go somewhere and I took the opportunity to wear my new shirt that Cindy gave me, hoping I would wear it for Christmas ~ she is very style/holiday oriented so she shopped with the holiday in mind.

She picked a nice red and black lace top with a little matching top ~ very versatile for summer as well minus the outer top and nice for social gatherings also.  An excellent choice and she got it at our favourite thrift shop with the original store tags still on it.  It fits perfectly I might add ~ she is an excellent shopper!

It was funny, because before we ate Jeff talked to one of the boys and asked when we were coming over. After dinner we ate and I put the food away sent out a few texts, including one to Cindy who had to work to see if she wanted to get together after my visit with the family.  She was down for that and since I never made it up to her place I still had her gifts.

Thomas had plans to escape to Williamstown with his friends later that evening as well.  So we got ready to go, I grabbed my hat and coat ~ always the last to be ready and the phone rang ~ "We need an hour~ dinner is ready."  It felt like I had just been through a fire drill and then all of the sudden ~ no rush!

We killed an hour ~ reading one of the real hardcover BOOKS my son got me for Christmas.  I am delighted to have actual books in hand to place lovingly on my shelf after I read them of course!  He had gotten me first a book by Stephen King based on a poem where the villain of the Dark Tower first came to being entitled "The Dark Man".

Excellent cover art on this book and the inside artwork was almost too distracting to really read the poem which was thankfully written out in the back of the book.  I say that because the art really was excellent and told it's own story and the words were secondary for me.

My serious book collection began with Stephen King and my Uncle Matt, my Uncle Mike began my addiction of Anne McCaffery and the Dragonriders of Pern with the White Dragon and it was downhill from there.

I was hooked and until a few years ago had all of the books.  I accidentally donated the wrong milk crate of books to the nursing home and someone score a nice batch of first editions and I lost part of my heart and my complete collection!  Oh well such is life as they say!

My son also graced me with a copy of Doctor Sleep as well by Mr. King.  I have not yet read it and have no idea what it is about.  I am sure I will enjoy it.  I have a spot all picked out right behind "Under the Dome" Collectors issue ~ which I didn't even crack the binding on ~ I read that one in the library.

I miss the days when I had every new book by my favourite authors when they came out.  I was part of a book club before the recession and the spending freeze.  Books are a total luxury.  I  love books!!!!

Sadly, he did not get me the final Harry Potter book I need to complete my collection.  I would kill to have that one my shelf ~ to read it even.  The movies have come and gone and I have not read the words!  He did however get me a box  set of the Hogwarts Library ~ stating it was part of the collection.  I have never heard of them but look forward to reading them as well.

Finally our hour passed so we returned to our jackets and I was again last one out the door.  We journey across town and arrived in minutes.  The family was enjoying a much needed pajama day and I got to see Ains' fox p.j.'s.

Pat couldn't wait to give his present ~ a 15" stuffed fox from "What does the Fox say" which she absolutely loves.  I couldn't wait to see it I had heard so much about this fox.  She unwrapped it and it was in a plastic bag with the air out of it.  When he came out he puffed right up ~ it was amazingly soft and somewhat squishy ~ she loved it.

We all exchanged gifts and Ainsley showed me her room and asked me if I wanted to color.  She showed us her scooter with light up wheels when you ride it and zoomed off down the hall and into the exercise area of the living room and back to show us the glowing wheels.

Then she grabbed a coloring book, her new crayons and her favourite crayons hidden in her room and we sat down to color a "My little Pony" together.  She had Tom riding her scooter as the adults visited in the living room.

Soon it was time to go ~ everyone, myself included was getting tired.  We headed back home and Cindy messaged me while we were in the car ~ free coffee at Cumby's for Christmas ~ no takers but a nice thought!

I told her to meet me at my house and she arrived a couple of minutes after Bruce and Pat dropped off Tom and I.  Tommy got on his computer to connect with his friends in Williamstown and before I knew it Cindy arrived and Nico and John a short while after that.

It was nice to see two out of three of my "sons" from my pre-Pittsfield life.  You really miss things and people you see regularly for years.  We had so much more of a social life in New Ashford than we do here. Granted it was at my house and not like my life is now.  Living in the country is entirely different than living in an apartment in a "City".

I find it difficult to even call where I live a City, as it is unlike Boston or Hartford or Albany or any major city in the world.  It is more like a large town to me after being in bigger cities.  I am sure it must be fun in it's own way to live in a real city.  Maybe someday I will experience that.

Anyway, the boys took off and Cindy and I hung out.  She didn't have Christmas dinner so we made up a plate and I made a ham sandwich for myself.  Thomas took his mouse for some reason so I let Cindy use my computer to do some messaging to her family and friends and before we knew it Christmas was almost over and she had to go.

I would like to say there was no calamity but sadly, my bulb got too heavy and fell over in the morning and snapped the flower stem with the unopened flowers on it, two of the four other flowers fell off as well so I placed them in a bowl of water as a centerpiece and they were and still are lovely.  The other flowers opened up much quicker than they would have, but at least they opened!

One more holiday to get through and with some good luck I hope that I have been through all of the emotional turmoil that I need to for the next ten years.  This was a really rough holiday for some reason.  I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride for no real reason on the surface.

I don't think I have any demons lurking in the shadows to come out and bite me in the ass regarding New Years but you never know.  Demons like to lurk in the dark and shadowy recesses and come out when you least expect them and when they can do the most harm.

I am good with all that.  If I have to hang garlic around my neck, light candles ~ what ever ~ anything not to have to go through that again.  Fortunately my son Thomas knows the right words to say and when to give a much needed hug ~ I raised that boy right!

I guess the trick will be to keep the right attitude and stay in the light where there are no dark shadowy recesses and remain calm, laugh and dance and keep them at bay.  I would rather read about Stephen King's demons than deal with my own to be sure!

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