Return to Scenes from (sur)real lifeHolidazed
We have a plastic pumpkin with flashing eyes in the window. We have a ghost hanging from the eaves, bathed in black light so it will glow softly (blue), and two pumpkins on the front porch.It’s starting again.
I’m not too worried, since it’s our ghost and 2 pumpkins. Wife has a monkey on her back. This monkey goads her into a frenzy of decorating for the holidays. Every holiday.
I receive cards from Wife for Halloween, Thanksgiving (until I married, I never knew there were such things as Thanksgiving day cards!) Christmas, New Year’s, President’s day, possibly Arbor day (I’m not sure I was paying attention that time). Any holiday that finds vindication in the Greeting Card section, I get cards for. I generally give cards for Valentines day, Mother’s day, Birthdays and Christmas. I occasionally give cards and/or presents "just because".
I don’t observe many holidays with more enthusiasm than I reserve for any other day off work with pay. When I was single, my holiday calendar started with the Fourth of July (okay, Independence Day). Fireworks! Next came Halloween (CANDY!), and finally, two (actually, three) holidays that spark all sorts of nostalgic, sentimental, goofy feelings inside me. I speak specifically of the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s season. Between these three (with Christmas receiving the place of honor) I can stay amped all the rest of the new year until the next Fourth.
Easter counts, but more as a religious holiday when we celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. This is observed (by me, anyhow) with the joyous and fearful discovery that once again, Cadburys’ Cream Eggs™ are available in the stores. (Fearful because they’re nigh unto irresistible and LOADED with empty calories!)
[Me: "Hi. My name is Bob and I’m a Chocoholic."]
[Others, in chorus: "Hello, Bob."]I married, and have since added Valentine’s day, our Wedding Anniversaries (we married twice, it’s a long story, and I ain’t going into that here!), Wife’s birthday, Father’s and Mother’s days, and Son’s birthday to my personal holiday calendar. The contrast between the style in which we celebrate family holidays should tell you something.
When I was growing up, your birthday was special to the whole family. You got gifts from immediate family members: siblings, parents, grandparents (when they lived nearby). You didn’t get to dictate the dinner menu but Mom did bake a cake to YOUR specifications (Chocolate cake with Chocolate frosting and NO COCONUT! Yes, I do tend to capitalize "Chocolate". Doesn’t everybody?)
The last birthday we celebrated (Son’s), we had every relative within driving distance (Mom was visiting from Sacratomato, but she flew in), several friends, and some acquaintances. Dinner was served (Thanksgiving will have a tough job coming off as a feast following this act!) Presents were opened. Lots and lots of presents! Metric tons of presents! I exaggerate, but only slightly. It took most of the following day to chase down the last stray piece of errant wrapping paper and put it in its proper place (the wastebasket). Wife’s grandson (age 2.5) was provided with one or two gifts of his own to prevent excessive jealousy. Cake was served. TWO cakes! In Wife’s family, the first birthday celebrations include one cake for the family, and one (smaller – but not by much) cake for the guest of honor (in an effort to conserve space, referred to hereafter as "GOH"). The aforementioned GOH (in this case, Son) then stuffs himself with cake, smears himself with frosting, and generally serves as a floor show for the rest of the celebrants. I fear to ask if second or later birthdays entitle the GOH to his own cake, but if it does, I will have to lodge a complaint with the Department of Birthdays, since there was only one cake at my birthday this year. Last year? Don’t ask! (Cupcakes, I think.)
While our holiday styles differ, We are learning to make compromises. I decorate internally (attitude, old man! Attitude!) She decorates externally, and calls upon my greater height and reach to do so. I watch holiday movies and get all sentimental, she watches some of them with me, but won’t sit still for 20 straight hours of every version of "A Christmas Carol" that ever found its way onto videotape. (I have at least 11 different versions of "Scrooge", and that’s only a fraction of my Christmas movie collection. It isn’t vast, but it’s close!)
I prefer holidays to include family and close friends. Fortunately, I genuinely like and enjoy the company of most of her relatives. Double-joy! These are the ones she can stand! As I am a military member, I have often been far from home during the holidays. It’s nice to have a family RIGHT HERE.
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