Christmas Malarkey

Its been ridiculously warm here. I think it did this last year too. The kids are somewhat depressed, wishing for snow, and frankly, I am not sure it will come being this warm in DECEMBER. Dear Sir says that it feels like spring.

James Blunt is still staring me in the face (here, I will turn the card over---hold on a sec--done), and I forgot to mention what else Dear Sir got me for my birthday: a guitar stand (I really needed one!), a shirt that has the British flag on it, the Complete stories of Flannery O'Connor, and a pair of sunglasses that cover more than half of my face. I wish the smaller ones were in style right now. Sheesh. I told him to get me NOTHING because I don't really want anything (I know, aren't I weird? It has taken me this long to figure out how to use the stinking James Blunt gift card). And I still have not done it.

The boys made me Christmas lists this year, which was fun and on BOTH of their lists they wrote that they wanted their sister to have a "purple light saber", which I thought was very sweet. So I found one and wrapped it up and said it was from the Oldest and Eraser Eater. She will be delighted to be able to duel them. I find that she often conforms to their kind of play because there is not another girl her age often around. She goes between being Kim Possible to batgirl to some jedi girl warrior. She will put on her black sweater and dart around with a lady bug utility belt on. It is kind of hilarious. It brings me back to my Wonder Woman days. You couldn't get those underroos off me.

I got Eraser Eater a metal detector (I hate metal, but he will have fun finding some Civil War shells in the backyard perhaps), The Oldest a rubix cube, and the girl this stupid Little Mermaid chariot thing with all the trimmings. I got them more things (obviously), but I am trying to focus on not buying them so much junk. I kept the presents at about ten each (I usually do only seven each) but since family is not around we have to compensate a bit. Plus, they have stockings full of stuff. I remember watching a show once about how poor families try to make up for being poor by blowing up balloons all around the tree for Christmas so when the kids wake up they think it is a big deal and are happy with the little they get. I am not "poor" but I am not with that sort of concept. I understand that I said that I gave them ten presents instead of seven to "compensate" but that is only because the things my kids asked for were so ridiculously simple, like notebooks, pens and erasers, that I wanted to get them things other than just those things! I remember when I was a kid and there were some rough years for Christmas and we had a big family. I was a little more aware I think than some in my family because for some reason I was just built that way. More sensitive, I guess. Believe me, it had its pros and cons. Yeah, we sometimes would not get the usual 20 presents or so for Christmas and would get only ten or seven. I remember one year we had moved and my parents spent a lot of their money on new furniture and things like that (which they needed) and I just figured in my mind that we almost had our Christmas with all that new stuff already. When Christmas that year rolled around and we got less than other years, I did not think what a bummer. I felt bad that my parents had to put up with complaints about it because you know, we were lucky we got anything.

My point is, I don't want my kids to be like that---thinking they deserve more. You get what you get. Thankfulness needs to be encompassing all of it, no matter what it is.