Christmas is Coming, the Geese are Getting Fat
I think that’s the way the song went. (There’s a reference to a ha’penny in that song. Never did learn what that was.)
“So what’s the big deal”, you ask. “Christmas comes every year.”
True. But this year I’ve already been told by several people that they’ve already finished their Christmas shopping and have their houses decorated.
ACK!
Finished shopping? My kids are trained to not think about what they want until at least the end of November. I remember years when DH and I didn’t start shopping until Dec. 18. Then we finished it all in one day. (Yes, I signed the petition to make Marathon shopping an Olympic sport.)
And decorating? I’m not sure we can find the decorations this year. (MS’s entire household is still in my living room. He moved out of his apartment and back home in the summer because the house he was to move in to would be ready in a few weeks. It’s not done yet.)
At least with MS’s stuff in there, I’ll only have half of the decorating to do, if I do much at all. (Yeah, it’s the hippy cocopuffs whine. You’ve heard it before, you can fill it in for yourself.)
Am I going to go all the way and use my hip for an excuse not to do Christmas? To not decorate at all and just give $$ for gifts? Maybe. But maybe not.
I thought I might do that for Thanksgiving, but found myself buying our 14 pounder and sweet potatoes last week. So much for that idea. We’re going to try to consolidate the living room to the west end and eat our Turkey and ham on the east end.
I doubt we can pack it deeply enough to get to the fire place to hang our stockings I knitted last year, though. I’ll be really sad if we don’t get to use them. Might have to hang them on the stairs instead of the mantle. I wonder if Santa can find them there?
So the holidays are upon us and I’m as far from being ready for them as I’ve ever been. What am I going to do? Worry? Whine?
Probably. Or I might just enjoy the change and go with the flow.
So, if you could come up with a dream Christmas, what/where would it be?
Skiing in a Christmas blessed wonderland?
You, a beach and your favorite bum in Mexico?
Every relative you’ve ever enjoyed at your house with Emeril doing the cooking?
A big party with all your heart friends?
Having someone else do all the work while you do all the enjoying? (Or would that make you the husband instead of the wife?)
Let me know.
Susan Shay 
11/22/2008 at 7:07 pm
One of my favorite Christmas memories is from years ago.
My wife and I were twenty-five and flat broke. We lived in a trailer. The couch only had three legs and a brick served as the other. The heater didn’t work right and during winter you could see your breath inside the house half the time.
We had an old black and white T.V. and a rotary antenna I rigged up on the clothesline out back. I had to go outside and turn it by hand- my wife would stomp on the floor when the picture came into focus. I still recall how cold that metal pole was. We got an extra channel in the summer when you could open the door to pick up the third one, but only two in the winter. (Too cold)
We couldn’t afford Christmas tree ornaments. My wife would poke a hole in the end of an egg (so as not to waste it) and I’d paint Christmas scenes on the shells. We has some kinda pitiful Charlie Brown tree, but we thought it was very special. We strung popcorn and hung it and the egg shell ornaments on the tree. The kids broke some of them years later, but we still have most of them.
She’d make some kinda egg nog concoction and I didn’t care the house was fifty degrees ’cause I thought she was hotter than a two dollar pistol- still do.
My wife believes in celebrations, so we’ve had many a fine Christmas.
Another favorite was when my kids were Mary and Joseph in the church play. It was the year after my girl was a donkey, so we were pleased with her promotion.
Dr. B
11/23/2008 at 5:51 pm
Dr. B,
Thanks for the memories. Reminded me of the summer my dh and I lived in a trailer. Air conditioner worked all day and couldn’t get the temp under 110. Ever.
Thankfully we were only there for 2 or 3 months. But we have some great memories from that trailer.
The time we tried to grill a fish in foil (DH caught it) and it had NO flavor. We ate it anyway.
And the time we invited my sister and her husband out for Chinese food that I slaved over in that heat, only to have them eat only the side salad.
Getting sunburned so bad on our 1 year anniversary that every time I got out of bed I passed out.
Wrecking our motor cycle and taking an ambulance trip to the hospital.
Sounds awful, I know, and at the time it probably was, but now it’s beautiful.
Thanks, Doc.
~S~
11/24/2008 at 2:33 am
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat.
Please put a penny in the old man’s hat.
If you don’t have a penny a ha’penny will do.
If you don’t have a ha’penny then God bless you!
My mother always sang that around the holidays. And yet when I brought her a live goose to butcher and eat one year she made a pet out of it. *sigh*
11/24/2008 at 12:34 pm
That’s the song, Dana. And what a funny story about your mom. (Not that I blame her.)
But do you know what a ha’penny is? It always sounded like something made out of straw to me.
Thanks for dropping by!
~S~
11/26/2008 at 10:27 pm
A ha’penny is a half penny. They used to have them (an actual coin) when I was growing up in England, back in the dark ages. Its hard to believe that there was a time when half a penny would buy anything, but it used to…
11/28/2008 at 2:09 pm
Suzanne,
I thought you were an American. Why did you grow up in England?
You make me curiouser and curiouser all the time.
BTW: I know what you mean about prices. I used to get a coke at a little gas station for about 15 cents. Hard to believe, isn’t it?
Thanks for dropping by!
~S~
11/28/2008 at 8:00 pm
My father is American and my mother is English. I was born in England and have dual citizenship.
11/29/2008 at 2:40 pm
That makes sense, Suzanne. I’ve noticed that men usually move where their wives want to live. (Not always, but much of the time.)
That’s why I encourage my boys to date women who grew up close to home. 😉
So are you a New Zealand citizen, too? Can you have a triple citizenship if you want?
~S~
11/30/2008 at 10:19 pm
I am a permanent resident of New Zealand, but not a citizen. I could be, as there is no law against having triple citizenship, but in practice I have all the rights of a citizen, including voting and free healthcare, so it seems kind of pointless.
12/04/2008 at 7:49 pm
How cool is that, Suzanne! you’ve got it made.
~S~
12/05/2008 at 3:14 am
You don’t know how bad the weather is here, if you think that… 🙂