Happy December from this censored Mountain Man of Alaska who is giving me some excellent advice for the month. When I was younger, I adored tinsel; unfortunately, my mom hated it and mostly refused to have it on the tree. Is tinsel still a thing? December's reality is that I could find reasons to be morose and frustrated, but will work on organizing, thus controlling my "tinsel." I'll hang it carefully on my "branches" with deliberation and planning. Life is twisted enough without me adding to it with my chaotic holiday emotions.
As I've mentioned before, December is full of various anniversaries, both joyous and sad. On this date in 2011, my niece was born. In early December 2012 my late husband came home from the care facility and went into Hospice, dying on December 4th. Thankfully, the pain and memories from then are blurry. Time may not be the great healer, but it certainly can blunt the sharp edges of loss.
I even have a not-so-clear photo of my wedding on December 15, 1984 to illustrate that point! Who are those youngsters?
Fall/Winter seem to bring a variety of illnesses, so I was over helping out with Tiny One this morning to give his coughing mother a couple more hours of sleep. Carol, her indoor cat, thought this leaf was a toy; she also carried it around in her mouth. I wish I'd gotten that picture! Carol is such a weirdo.
The formerly spindly rhododendron that my late husband scoured the town for (I loved the color) has grown into this, which I just got trimmed. If I were truly festive, I would put lights on it. However, I can't compete with my neighbor who has lit up palm trees, a red blinking reindeer and blue strobe lights. As I grumbled to John, "It looks like a Las Vegas brothel over there." But I will NOT get my tinsel in a tangle over it.
Speaking of John, he wondered why little kids never have eyebrows, probably because his granddaughters are redheads and blondes. So, I showed him this photo of Little Guy who has very bold eyebrows to go with his beautiful brown eyes and long eyelashes. My eyebrows used to look like this too until I started waxing them; I wish I'd never done that.
John has decided not to decorate for Christmas but has asked to help me with my tree. He'll come down some time this next week; we'll head up to the local hardware store to pick out a 3-foot Noble Fir. Then we or he will put it in the stand and string the lights. I'm hoping that he'll also deal with the train since I'm not spatial enough to do the tracks. I think it's an ideal adaption for both of us: I won't struggle and weep/swear over tree frustrations (shims! tangled lights!) and he'll enjoy just enough of the spirit of Christmas without having to deck his own halls. Afterward I'll treat him to dinner out as a thank you for installing my two light fixtures, which look fabulous by the way.
Incidentally, there will be no tinsel. I've turned into my mother.
Recent Comments