A Happy Holiday

I would wish everyone a "Merry Christmas," but merry doesn't quite seem in keeping with the holiday spirit, which is a little squashed by the bad economy. "Merry" suggests something medieval and jolly--lots of homebrew, a roaring fire, conical hats with fabric streamers, mistletoe, kisses under, and the merry sound of dulcimer, sacbut, and lute. But happy is good enough today. We have foregone the holiday travel this year. Except for one year in the last 30 years of marriage, my husband and I have traveled to visit extended family at Christmas; this year, we're staying put, with the two kids here to celebrate: no 12-hour drive to my parents' house in East Texas, no stopover in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for my best friend and her husband have, since last Christmas, moved to northern California. When we lived in northern Minnesota, that trip to Texas was almost a 24-hour drive, broken up by an overnight stay at a hotel with our then-small children. One was usually sick and puking in the back seat of the car. Last Christmas, I was the one who was sick, shivering with chills and fever, and it took me over a week to recuperate.

Hey, we do have a fire crackling in the fireplace although the high today is in the upper 50s (while elsewhere around the country, people are dealing with severe winter weather). For the past two evenings we've been playing board games in the evening, with winners receiving a wrapped prize. Tom has baked bread and given small loaves to our closest neighbors. I've done less baking than I usually do, but I have baked our family favorite: teacakes. The cats are dozing in front of the fire; the kids are enjoying each other's company after months of being separated.

Yes, it's almost a Norman Rockwell Christmas around here. However, fortunately for us--and I mean this--we have neighbors with a sense of humor to take the saccharine out of Christmas. They've decorated in their front yard a large, inflatable gorilla with lights and a Santa hat. The sight of it makes me want to break out the dulcimer, put on a hat with streamers, and dance wildly in our front yard.

Merry Christmas, y'all!