Countdown to Christmas - Day Two

Scrooge, Grinch – whatever you want to call me, I was dreading the countdown to Christmas this year. I think the thought of all the work involved to get ready for the holidays depressed me. I asked my husband on Thanksgiving night if he thought anyone would mind/care/notice if I didn’t decorate the house for Christmas. His reply: “You will regret it by December 22nd, and then try to do everything in two days.” He was right. Visions of Jamie Lee Curtis in Christmas with the Kranks flashed through my mind. I was wondering how I would muster the desire/energy/motivation to pull the boxes of Christmas décor out of the garage when, what to my wondering eyes did appear when I came home from work yesterday – my tree was up and the house was mostly decorated – Thanks to my wonderful husband.

With the decorating issue out of the way my next dread became gift giving. Buying presents for family and friends has become harder over the years. Who really needs anything? Just when old Ebenezer was about to take over my mind and soul - my daughters surprised me with Angel Presents. Angel Presents have been a tradition in our home for over twenty-five years, but was dropped a couple of years ago when the girls grew up and moved away. The tradition began when my friend, Debra, and I made felt angel wall hangings when our children were toddlers. The angel has twenty-four pockets on her skirt into which I put a slip of paper with a clue as to where to look for that day’s angel present. The presents were typically small tokens of holiday love (which grew larger and more expensive with each passing year) specially selected for my girls. I shopped year-round to come up with twenty-four just-right Angel Presents and we all looked forward to December first when the gift giving began. The scavenger-hunt type clues were sometimes even more fun than the actual gift.

Last night, at our weekly family dinner (Wednesday Winers), my daughter handed me a slip of paper with a clue written on it. I was momentarily dumbfounded. What in the world did “Big Red’s version of the A.A. Serenity Prayer” mean? Then it clicked. This was a clue. I found my way to a small wooden plaque in my grandmother’s den that reads, “It is okay to drink like a fish provided you drink what a fish drinks” and there I found a wrapped gift – an Angel Present for me! After I finished crying and opened my gift I learned there will be twenty-three more – a role reversal of Angel Present gifting from my two daughters. Wow! Their thoughtfulness has inspired me to look at gift giving in a new light. Rather than the chore/drudge/torture I was anticipating, I am now excited about finding my loved ones the perfect expression of my holiday goodwill.

Ladies and Gentlemen – the Grinch has left the building!