Mid-December mashup

Oldies but goodies

Lots of wintry shenanigans this week--although thank goodness, none of it involving actual weather! Let's see, we had the solstice (which really just signifies that more daylight is coming--whoo hoo!), the beginning of most of Team WestEnders' holiday break (I have to show up at the office for 4 hours on Monday, no biggie), and of course, the ever-so-festive (and perpetually silly) photo shoot for the annual friends-and-family Merry Everything card.

Speaking of the yearly picture-palooza, back up with me for a moment to Thanksgiving weekend, if you will. I'd gleefully decked the halls on Sunday, faithfully following my mom's tradition as we used to do it in my childhood home. However, one crucial piece of fa la la-ing remained glaringly unfinished...and as dinnertime approached, Husband wearily sighed, gave me what was probably meant to be his best hangdog expression, designed to inspire sympathy, and plaintively asked, "Can we put the tree up next week?" Well...while I do understand and even empathize with being tired at the end of a 4-day mini-vacay...the short answer was an unequivocal "Um, sorry, but NO WAY, JOSE--er, "Spouse". I mean, I need to experience the sparkle and glow of a fully bedazzled (faux) evergreen in our living room for the entire month of December, and this just leaves no wiggle room for delaying the magic, my sweet little...elves.

New, fresh, and exciting!

So he grumbled a wee bit, but then rallied and applied himself admirably to the task nonetheless, and fulfilled my pre-Christmas wish...even though he was missing one helper, since Derek had returned early to SC for the big Rivalry Week football game. This left Riley to assist me in placing the baubles, as the final step in the beautification process. As we were lovingly unpacking the box full of special trinkets, my darling son suddenly commented, "I think...we need some new ornaments. Some of these are....a little dated." For a moment, I just gaped at him, unable to believe my ears at this audacious notion. How could you SAY that? Why, just look at this...ooooh, I see. Are you referring to the collection of kitschy snowmen, plastic Santas, and other random, cheap fillers that I most likely purchased before we had enough meaningful tokens to actually cover the branches? Yeah...you may have a point...

While I took the hint and weeded out some of the no-longer-essential placeholders to "retire", he enthusiastically continued, "Hey! Derek and I can go to the Hallmark store and each pick out something! We haven't done that in years!" He's absolutely right...and some of those early selections still adorn our tree, such as the sporty penguins...the soccer net that (when supplied with working batteries, which only happened for the briefest of periods, for obvious reasons) obnoxiously shouts "GOOOOOAAAL" when the ball is thrown into it...and the cheerful locomotives from Riley's precious Thomas the Tank Engine phase.

Oops! Almost...

And since we still had to wait a bit for Derek to finish up his semester and come home, I figured what the heck, why shouldn't I get in on the fun? Thus I upgraded our tiny, almost invisible Harry Potter decoration, and acquired a tasteful UNC addition. (Husband having pointed out that not only have we lived here 5 years, but now I'm even employed by the institution...yet we still somehow lacked anything commemorating either the town or university in our display...a glaring omission which as you can see has been successfully--and attractively--addressed. Whew!) Then, as an unexpected bonus, my massage therapist happened to be giving out adorable handmade crafts...using locally sourced acorns and organic wool, in a perfectly artistic representation of Hippie-town (as my children call it)...otherwise known as Carrboro. Needless to say, it fits in beautifully--at least with MY aesthetic, which is really the only one that counts, right? (Sure, let's go with that...)

Well, I did tell them they could be silly...

Finally, the bros were able to make their sojourn to ye olde card shoppe to peruse this season's offerings and carefully choose one to represent the 2019 noel. Of course, first we had to indulge in some patented ridiculousness by, for example, acting like 4-year olds. "Mom, can I buy the $40 lightsaber one?" "No? How about the...fishing...pants?" Siiiighhhh. Eventually, in a move that surprises absolutely no one, after much consideration, Riley kept coming back to the sleek, shiny gold train that caught his eye early in the proceedings. And Derek? Well, he went with a beloved classic character as you can see: Snow Miser from The Year Without a Santa Claus. (circa 1974. Holy guacamole, who knew it was that old? Ahem...I mean...vintage is cool, yeah? Or...retro! That's it, we're just throwing it back...'cuz that's how we roll...or some such nonsense. Moving on...)

Goofball brothers...

And then--HALLELUJAH--we were able to muster the troops for the campaign that I'm going to hereafter refer to as "for the love of all things holy, can we please just position ourselves (without blocking anyone else), stand still (no last-second twitching), smile (in a reasonably natural fashion), and keep our eyes open (DEREK) long enough for One. Decent. Shot?" I swear, it doesn't seem like that much to ask, especially with offspring who are essentially grown, and yet...every time...it quickly degenerates into a downright farcical situation with me barking (unheeded) orders in an increasingly exasperated tone...until I throw my hands up and declare that "Fine! It'll have to do". What can I say? Unfortunately, it IS my circus, and they ARE my monkeys...ay yi yi...

Anyway...with all of the prep work pretty much done at this point, it feels like we can now relax and enjoy the rest of our holly jolly hiatus. So without further ado, let there be hot chocolate...Disney+ marathons...presents! Yay, yule!! Oh, and of course: wishing everyone a joyful...any and all of the wonderful things you may celebrate!)