Tuesday, December 26, 2006
The un-holidays
This year, I chose not to write about my birthday because it was really combined with our other celebrations, and there seemed to be little to actually write about. We did have a cake and, when we couldn’t find a birthday candle, someone rustled up a full-sized dinner taper. I got a bracelet, which I discovered scratched up my computer case, so I took it off and put it with the other bracelets I don’t wear. Today I bought myself a late birthday present: the smallest photo printer I could find so it would fit on the little desk in the den. I did this after packing up the inkjet printer to take back to the office, after realizing that though it seems smaller enough in an office setting, at home it would take up te entire desk.
Yesterday, we had an un-Christmas day at home. Everyone does something a little different on the 25th of December - a day with the family, dinner with the folks, a frenetic day spent ferrying children in a sugar-induced high between variuos relatives. We said that any of our friends feeling the need to escape from relatives, take a break between sets of inlaws and mincemeat pies, or just wanting to come by for a visit, could feel free to stop in for some decidedly un-Christmas hang-out time. What they’d find at our place was us, in sweatshirts and slippers, playing ABC (anything but Cristmas) music and movies, and serving up comfort food (chicken soup, split pea soup grilled cheese sandwiches, or home made mac ‘n cheese), and a hot cuppa.
We had a small but steady stream of friends who came by to say hi, have a cup of soup, hang out for a bit, see new pictures of the grandkids, and ten go of to their next engagement. It was wonderful - perhaps we’ll make it an annual tradition.