I love Christmas, and I've always enjoyed the giving aspect of the whole affair, even though it's commercialized beyond belief, and Santa is more popular than Jesus in the scheme of things, it is still my favorite holiday.
But.
It always seems like half way through Christmas day I get depressed. I get irritable and grouchy and am just as likely to snap at you as smile. This I have come to know as the 'Christmas Blues'.
All Mother's out there can attest to this; we never get what we ask for. Well, ok, sometimes we'll find the occasional listener, who actually thought about what we asked for, or hinted for, all year who will surprise and delight us on Christmas day. I have asked for pots and pans, a dishwasher, electronic appliances, anything that will help make my life easier! I've asked for spinning tools, spinning fiber, knitting/crochet tools, books, etc ad nauseum.
So I get up Christmas morning, knowing for the most part that I will get something that took someones fancy as they were racing down an isle to get to something someone else asked for, and they thought "Ooo! Mom would like that!".
Don't get me wrong, I know they appreciate me, they just don't think about me very often. ...Ok, no, I don't know they appreciate me. But I do know they love me, which makes the whole off-the-cuff thing easier to swallow.
But!
This Christmas was different. My kids are 18 and 20 years old, and I realize that a lot of my depression mid through Christmas day is, it just isn't as fun anymore. And missing Tad doesn't help either... but this year, we have Joy. It is so nice, so uplifting and invigorating to have a baby in the house again, to over-kill on presents because we can, and watch her learn and play (with the boxes and wrapper tubes), and listen to her laugh and giggle. And I did get something I asked for (been asking for it for 8 years, but never mind that!), DH got me a Kindle! I love it! I've now ordered a skin and a cover for it, and I'm pretty sure I won't be going far without it in the near future.
As you saw in the last post, I also got the book Aran Knitting, the DVD "The Gentle Art of Plying" with Judith MacKenzie McCuin, and the book Sock Yarn One Skein Wonders. These of course were self-given gifts, but I can deal with that :)
So to tie in the title of this post, looking back on Christmas' Past and specifically this Christmas, rather makes me feel like I'm looking back at the Grinch's heart when it grew three sizes that day; the more I look back on it, the bigger and more fulfilling it becomes.
It was a good Christmas.
3 comments:
I'm glad you had a good Christmas; I did, too. My husband got me two of the three things I asked for (a mosquito clamp - a handy little vet tool I wanted to help me tie knots - and two more bobbins for my miniSpinner), and I won two drawings in December full of fun and wonderful fiber arts stuff, which feels like a Christmas bonus.
For me, when I don't go home, Christmas is just another day - get up, feed the animals, do stuff, knit, read, feed the animals, go to bed. This year was more fun with my cousin visiting, and having a tree.
I'm glad you had a good time - it is really fun to watch littles open their presents - and it's funny how they usually like the boxes best!
Oh, Becky you are so right. I think it's a Mom kind of thing... we can hint all we want, but unless we have a girl child in our family, it ain't gonna happen,
Thankfully, I do have that wonderful girl - woman/child and it all works out in the end.
I hope you have a wonderful and prosperous new year, and I hope now that we both have jobs, we don't lose what is best, the simple friendships of the internet! :)
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