A December to Remember

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Today is Friday. Exactly 10 days before Christmas. I have much to be thankful for (oh, wait, that's a totally different holiday...) Getting back to the point, it's 10 days before Christmas and, in keeping with (my) custom, I've not done anything about shopping. I'm a Virgo by birth but Christmas creeps up on me every year.

Don't get me wrong. My procrastination is not a passive aggressive protest against the commercialization of this wonderful holiday. I love Christmas. I love everything about it. But, I'm not convinced "Christmas" is the bill of goods American retailers try to sell us every year. (I am particularly offended by the advertisements that suggest we should purchase an earth-damaging, oversized, gas-guzzling, non-functional "SUV" for the "person who has everything." Really? Have we really set the bar at giving a luxury car for Christmas?)

And I'm not against gifts. It's just that I find so much enjoyment in the other stuff about Christmas: the fragrance of freshly cut fir trees under Uncle Al's tent; the memories attached to each and every ornament in my collection; twinkly white lights; eggnog milkshakes from Steak n' Shake; the Christmas music of Harry Connick Jr. and Jimmy Buffett; my mama's coconut pecan fingers and "junebug" cookies; remembering how my daddy would work a full day on Christmas Eve so his assistants could take the day off; the 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TNT; the lilt of Bing Crosby's vocal stylings in "White Christmas"; enjoying a delicious meal with family; ALWAYS thinking of my mama when I hear Brenda Lee sing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"; and the joy of seeing my family and friends light up when they unwrap that "perfect" gift so thoughtfully and lovingly selected for them. Now THAT is a December to Remember.*

* Lexus, you are really, really getting on my nerves. Grrrrrr!

Comments

Keysgal@QuietWater said…
Well said my sweet child. Love you.
December 18, 2006 at 8:33 PM
LMP said…
Pat, will you please teach MY mom how to comment on my blog? Thank-you very much,

Lisa
December 20, 2006 at 8:10 AM
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