Santa Hats and Cookies

 Merry Christmas - and for those who don't celebrate, Happy Day!

It has been a strange year, so why not make it a slightly strange holiday? I was missing singing at mass last night, something I look forward to every year. The choir would have been working on songs starting at the end of September, and a merry time we would have had!  Last year we were in Williamsburg for Christmas, which was a wonderful time. I didn't sing with the choir last Christmas, and though I sort of missed it, I didn't expect at the time there would barely be any singing for 2020. So, when I tuned in to a live stream of mass last night, seeing all the red poinsettia plants amidst the lit trees, there was a tiny, bittersweet pang of "I wish" in my heart. 

We did put up the tree, and because everything is in storage, we only brought two boxes of ornaments with the tree back to the house. I don't believe I've unveiled DH's plan for 2021 - more on that in the new year. For now, know that many holiday items are in a storage unit, and much of our household will be traveling there to join it all in the coming months.

One box is filled with an assortment of red, burgundy, and gold balls - plus a few other spheres that hold special meaning, like the one with Snoopy that commemorated the year I graduated high school, and one for our first Christmas as a married couple. The other box is labeled "Santa Ornaments", which contains Santa ornaments (no kidding!), plus angels, Hallmarks' Frosty Friends (which we eventually stopped buying) and another series with penguins, which Moink usually got in his stocking. We have collected several series of ornaments depicting Santa from around the world. There is Pere Noel, one is Father Christmas, Santa Lucia, Saint Nicholas, and so on. There are egg0 shaped wooden Santas, and some are Santa icicles that have lovely textured and painted details. Then, there are the angels. DH made a dozen of ceramic angels in white and gold. There is a Jim Shore angel. A new one given to me by BFF - two angels with arms linked, with the word 'friends' written on it. And, one elf - an ornament made from a nylon stocking that was stuffed with fluff, and sewn into an elf form - wearing a Santa hat, and nothing else! It was given to me by a 7th grader - Billie Jo - from my very first teaching assignment, oh so many years ago. It must go on the tree every year, no matter what. Not DH's style for certain, but he's been very understanding, for 36 years now!

Speaking of DH, he's been pretty busy, too! Completely retired now, he's been out a lot in the past week, and every time he comes home, he brings another goodie. Working full-time doesn't afford the spare minutes to bake cookies. One thing that has always been a big part of his Christmas is the baking. and he wand to make up a nice cookie tray, so he's been buying them. There are thumbprints and cheesecake cookies, and little truffle/mint delights; there is apricot kolochki, and amoretto cookies, and don't forget the lady fingers...and the list just goes on. There are also Italian meat and cheese appetizers to put out today to munch on while we wait for the roast beast to cook. Cookies and snacks galore. Not complaining! 

Of course, there is a story to go with the Santa hat reference. Years ago, I worked for a while at a store called  Children's Palace, a massive toy store. (boy, now there's a treasure trove of stories!) I was walking through the store at the end of a shift doing a clean-up. People would decide not to get something and set it down where it didn't belong (can you imagine?). There would also be the awful chore of finding packaging from things that had been stolen, and of course, that all had to be written up and reported as losses. Not a good thing for any retail store! During one of those clean-up runs, I found this Santa hat. It didn't look like any of the others (it is a really nice quality!), and there was no tag. So, I brought it up to the front desk. My friend Dorothy said, "I've never seen one like that here before. Do you want it? It isn't like the others, but we can ring it up using one of those tags."

So I bought it. 

Did Santa lose his hat? Where did it come from? I'll never know for certain, but I've kept it safe all these years, just in case he comes looking for it. So, one Christmas, I don't know what was going on, but we must have been decorating for the holiday.  I must have been verbally disapproving of something when the hat was unpacked. Apparently, I stopped mid-chastisement to exclaim, "Ooh, Santa hat!" This became a favorite of the children and DH, who would point and yell, "Look, Santa hat!" if they were about to get an earful from their loving mother. And, it hasn't died down. While I no longer need to chastise my adult children, they are quite quick to point out Santa hats. Ha, ha ha. I mean, ho, ho ho!

So, in this weirdness of 2020, we are still looking for the things that make us happy - obviously, cookies, and of course, Santa hats. I hope you are enjoying the things that make you happy with the loved ones you are able to safely gather around you. Here at the pool, we'll be dipping our toes into the warm memories that make this time of year so special. Let's learn from this past year, taking those lessons into the new, and know that together, we'll make a difference for each other. Hugs.

One and a Half Minutes Left in the Game

 Hey there! Welcome back to the Stress Pool, where the water is warm and the concession stand never closes. Christmas cookies are on the menu now, along with eggnog and everything to go with it!

Have you ever noticed how you end up with a train of thought, with no idea of the origin? That happens to me all the time, like it did this morning. DH and I were on our way to the grocery store, each mired in our own thoughts. Mine were stuck on trying to remember today's date. (I eventually did, by the way!). Then, it came to me how close we are to ringing in the New Year, and beads of sweat broke out along my hairline. "Oh no," I thought, "don't jinx it!" Don't worry, nothing was uttered out loud - but it did remind me of a story.

Many several years ago (and it had to be before 2006, because Jerome Bettis was still playing), Mima, BFFB, and possibly one of the girls and I went out to do a little Christmas shopping. On the way home, BFFB asked if I would tune in to the Steeler game to catch the score. We were in the fourth quarter, and if I remember correctly, it was a very important game. Die-hard fans, Mima and BFFB.

Let me digress here: Big Brother was a kicker for both his high school and college football teams. I know squat about football, except what BFFB explained to me as we sat in the stands and watched our boys - her son, Davis, a year ahead of Big Brother, was also on the high school team. However, there were a few things I learned that nobody had to teach me. One of those things was the course of the game could change at any given moment. You see where this is going...

They were close to the end of the fourth quarter. The Steelers had the ball, and we were ahead. The announcer said, "There's a minute and a half left in the game." Cheers erupted in the car.

Then, I spouted out the one thing I knew to be true: "A minute and a half? Anything can happen in a minute and a half!"

As if on cue, Bettis fumbled the ball, and the other team (whoever they were) retrieved it. There might have been some yardage gained - like, enough to give them points advantage. I don't quite remember all the details, and believe I've blocked it out. It was good for me that I was driving and the car was moving, if you catch my drift. I might have found myself stranded on the road! No 'bad' words were said, but apparently it was my fault the fumble occurred, and the mood of our group was radically changed. 

"How could you say that?"

 "What's wrong with you?"

 In the fraction of a second I'd failed my mother, my children, my friends, my city. Just lead me to the path of shame!

So, this morning as we drove along and my thoughts drifted, I bit my tongue. No, I did not say it, nor will I type those incriminating words here. I will not be blamed for any troubles in the New Year brought on by jinxing events that have nothing to do with me, because I obviously hold some crazy power over the cosmos. For the record, last New Year's eve I did not say that 2020 would have to be better than 2019 - I didn't think 2019 was that bad! So, if Atlas shrugs, oceans rise, mountains fall, or your car doesn't start, it won't be my fault.

Wondering what happened in the game? In order to regain my status as a respectable Pittsburgher, I said, "There is still over a minute left; anything can happen!" Amid groans by my companions and by some miracle, Pittsburgh regained the ball, scored a touchdown, kicked the extra point, and won the game. I was redeemed, but it was decided that I should never listen to or watch a Steeler game again. And I haven't. So, when they lost last week and broke their winning streak, that was somebody else's doing, not mine. (We will not count that 10 seconds where I checked the score and saw that we were ahead.)

Let's just live in the moments we have left this year, and keep looking for the good. Our family has had a lot of good runs in the midst of the chaos and turmoil. We have each other. We have good friends. Even some scary health moments have been overcome, at least for now. I just need a little work on keeping track of the thought train - especially the express!

So, pop on down to the Pool, and we can talk about what's on our minds, but maybe after the game. You know.