17. Day to Day

Strange times we are living in but then again hasn't it always been strange? This world, this place, this time; anytime in history is curious because we are here for such a short stint: a solid 75 years with any luck. 

What is the goal? Is there even one? To accomplish something or to move humankind forward? I'm not really sure what I came here to do. This business of being precisely who you are can be a bit precarious. As I tread the path, so many appear to be farther ahead, happier or have an easier route. What about those who wander with no structure at all? The ones alone out in the field running their fingers over the tall grass not concerned about direction or pace; it's as if they have done it all before and now know just to be part of the ecosystem, to take it all in. 

16. The List: Memories from my Childhood Christmas

This one came to me when I was delivering some cards to my mother today. I was helping address and message a few cards so she could get them in the mail to her friends. When I was driving back, I was trying to remember how she used to display all the holiday cards we received from family and friends. 

I love the holiday card season. I believe I could do without the gifts entirely, if I could just receive mail every single day. I makes me so happy and light to have true hand addressed cards, not just bills, waiting to be opened at the end of each day. In fact it's a moment I cherish like a piece of chocolate or a sip of wine. I save it and savor it at just the right time. Then, I take the cards and tape them up on our wall across from the front door. I've searched for more aesthetically pleasing ways to display them over the years but this way allows for a us to clearly see our friends. Having these friendly faces in our house truly lifts my spirits, especially this year as we've had little to no friends over. 

In any case, my mother used a repurposed Pringle can to display our cards when I was a kid. This was back in the day when most people sent true cards rather than photo cards. The can she used had green yarn but was fairly similar to this image I found online, including the sprig of green on top. The cards slide in on a piece of yarn and you could scroll through the roll, which was usually displayed on the table behind the couch across from our tree.  



15. Vocabulary

Clumsy: My voice out loud passing over the pages of Harry Potter as I read with the girls. 

Driveling: Over the words as they spill out of my mouth, sometimes wiping the saliva from reading at a pace which hints too fast.

Corrected: When I mispronounce words like "Harry Potster" or "she said" rather than "he said." 

Confident: They are paying attention and not just bidding their time until we can watch the movie.

Scholarly: Getting an education in stories: I, paying attention to the writer's tone and character development while they pay attention to the storyline so they can talk about it with their contemporaries. 

Exhuberant: Sitting at lunch or dinner talking about what is happening in the book; guessing at what is to come and making connections between events and characters. 

Charming: She reenacts character dialogues in various English accents and tones, none of which are wholly accurate but are absolutely delightful nonetheless. 

Elated: A dream turned reality when she leaned over to me and said she thought Professor Lupin might be Sirius Black. I whispered I had been wondering the same thing but then also I think he might be a really good guy.

13. The List: Memories from my Childhood Christmas

My mother had Poinsettias all over our house at Christmas. She was raised and cultivated as a bonafide fake plant person from an early age, so we had fake and real poinsettias all over our house during the holidays. A quick Google search tells me their associated with the Star of Bethlehem and the crucifixion, which is probably why they are so abundant in her world. It occurs to me now that I used to buy a real poinsettia in my early years living on my own as Christmas decor and that she brought me a live one or two when I moved into this "new" house. I preferred the live plants and associated these with a connection to my mom's underdeveloped indoor houseplant thumb. Now I'm intrigued by Aztecs cultivating them to use for dyes and anti-inflammatory medication.

Over the years my mother has collected numerous plants and even kept them in her decor throughout the whole year. I think it's because she puts them here and there while she's decorating for the holidays. Then she forgets all the ones she has placed in every room and along her way to moving them, finds more to use in decorating. It's not uncommon to find one sticking out from a fake plant of other sorts or alone in a vase in a bathroom. 

This morning I found a box full of fully bloomed poinsettias in her Christmas storage closet and picked one out to send over to her. Maddie was going to place a few outside but I got worried they would weather in the snow and be ruined (though they are fake and some show years of sun damage). 

I think it's the familiarity, the vibrant color that is so alluring. I only wish I had chosen a white one, which is supposed to symbolize the star of Bethlehem rather than the red one, which is the crucifixion.

11. The Eco Santa

There once was a Santa who, instead of building new toys for kids each year, diversified his business and leveraged his contact list. The bottom line was to identify what children had and could exchange with another as a gift for the holiday. 

Sure Santa still intervened when there was no true solution or if toys had to be fixed en route to their new owner; but otherwise, the Santa spirit morphed and people started to connect without the middleman to reuse the items that they had and the joy that filled their house from that item. 

The true magic is how humans evolved to change their consumptive holiday habits and take care of each other better and the world we inhabit. The truth is that we are all fine at home with our families, potentially a treat or a good book and the dog or cat curled up. Santa being the magic we make for ourselves, our connections to those around us. 

9. White Christmas

She asked me tonight while laying in bed, "What was your favorite scene in White Christmas?" She was stalling but we reviewed all the ones we preferred - mine is Bing and Danny covering the Haynes Sisters act and Amelia's is the final scene when the snow falls. Then we talked about our favorite character; it took us some time to remember the four main characters names, not the actors names. We were surprised at how hard it was for us both to pinpoint their names and I took some solace in the exercise not necessarily being the precursor to Christmas future since a seven-year-old couldn't recall them either. 

We've seen the movie together at least five times at this point; I've seen it many more. She said, "You love Christmas movies." I said, "I do. But I love musicals too. So you can imagine how excited I was for a musical Christmas movie." 

Then she asked me to tell her about the first time I saw White Christmas. It took me a bit to pinpoint my answer about my first time. I assumed it was as an adult but as I rationalized the history and a somewhat accurate response, I came to land on the fact that the Haynes Sisters song was covered in Chris and Cullen's pre-wedding video, which was 30 years ago this December (certainly a time-warp of it's own). This fact put me at age 14 and meant I saw White Christmas for the first time when I was much younger. I told her, "I don't remember watching it with Nana or Grandpa Cornish," though we always note when we watch it that Vera Bradley was his personal favorite and this means that at some point in my life I watched it with him. I explained that you had to catch movies on tv when they were scheduled and even told her about a magical resource called the weekly television guide that would tell you what shows were scheduled and when. She asked, "but what if there wasn't anything you wanted to watch?" I just said, "well that sucked." Typing this now, I realize that is a first world problem my kids will never experience. 

So I imagined being a pre-teen or younger, wanting the same luscious song voice of Betty and the same dazzling outfits, short skirts and dancing stylings of Judy. Daydreaming, as my girls are still doing every year, about long reds dresses trimmed with white and a horse drawn carriage gliding through the snow as the perfect ending to a perfect Christmas. 

I don't know when I watched it for the first time. Every year I love to indulge in the euphoria of that story, though I know it's not reality and perhaps a bit archaic at this point. I made sure to point out that there are literally no people of color in the whole movie. Still, watching it has become a tradition in our house and provides a bridge to my childhood home. 

Last week, she said to me, "I hope it snows for Christmas." I remember feeling that way as a kid too. 

P.S. Vera Bradley is a no brainer choice, right, with the moves and the body; "she's so flexible," she said. But give me the physical humor of Danny Kay any day over those long, bendy legs.