December 20, 2019 – Scattered Notes and Christmas

         Lost and Found Department:

         I found those little wooden pumpkins in a ginger jar that resides on the bottom shelf of an end table.  Why I put them in that is beyond me – but I had to move it to another room temporarily in order to get the Christmas tree up.  So, it was a case of remove the Thanksgiving decorations – put them up in that ginger jar – then forgetting about where I put them.   When I moved the jar again this year – I took off the top to dust it and found the pumpkins.

         Now, I lost a letter I tucked away in my “notes” folder and now I can’t find it.  That is where I jotted down the temporary address of a friend, Diane, who is visiting her family for several months and now her Christmas card will not get there on time.  I doubt it will arrive at all – I sent it to her home address with “please forward” – but who knows what the Post Office will do.

         Lost – or rather I have misplaced, as I doubt I have thrown them out – a pair of 20-inch tall Nutcrackers which are hard to store.  I remember I took them out of a suitcase I needed for a trip and they were wandering around in the bottom of a closet until I cleaned the closet.  Then, I put them somewhere safe – so safe even I can’t find them.  Maybe they will show up at Easter time – who knows.

         So – I am still three items lost again - if anyone is keeping score.

         Christmas cards – Why do I send so many out?  It is not as if I have hundreds of relatives or friends in the area – it is more of acquaintances here and there.  That old adage “networking” comes in to play.  And, when asked about why so many compared to the cost of it – I had to admit, “Yes, it is a little insane . . .”

         But, I got a call from a dear couple who have the same exact wedding date we have.  We live a long way apart, but we keep in contact with a note or card a couple times a year and a few phone calls.  My card prompted a call from them and the news was not good.  We call her “Bitty” and “Little Bitty” because she is petite standing beside her huge John-Wayne-size husband.  “Little Bitty,” is her nickname, her name of endearment.  Things are not well with her, she is having brain surgery next Friday.  She is my age, she has so much more life ahead of her. I hope this new surgeon has an angel sitting on his shoulder helping him be successful.  Meanwhile, I’ve put her on the prayer line, our church's prayer line is such a powerful thing, makes miracles.

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         During the holidays, I get a lot of reading time in, trying to sit quietly and not mess up the house. [Usually I am doing something, some craft, or some project and I have the house half dismantled.]  But, at this time of year I sit and fold my hands or I read and shred magazines – keeping out articles or recipes.

         If you happen to have the December 2019 issue of Southern Living, I’d like to point out a few lines from the story: Uncle Ed’s Christmas Carol by Rick Bragg.

         “ . . . some Christmases are kept better than others.  Some flash in and out of our memories, like a short in an old string of lights.”

         “ . . .and the grocery store, where frozen turkeys and smoked hams piled up like cannonballs.”

         “Our mistletoe was procured the old-fashioned way, by blasting it out of the trees with a Remington.”

         “I should have told him this when he was alive, but things get awkward the longer you live.”

         “And, it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well.”

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         I hope everyone who reads this blog today, takes the last line to heart and puts it in this year’s Christmas plan: 

Keep Christmas well.