Christmas Eve

I worked today. Christmas Eve. No one else wanted to work, I volunteered.
Several people came into the office today. A few thanked us for being open on a day when most business, let alone professional offices, are closed.

"Thank you." - Two words that a lot of people say every day. They rarely seem to carry the full meaning.

One of the patients was so thankful for us being open today that she bought my co-worker and I a pizza. I was surprised, and pleased.
She didn't have to do that, we were just doing our job (and getting paid to do it), but it was a very nice gesture and her way of showing us that she really did appreciate that we were there.
A half hour later our Mail Carrier came in and I offered him a piece. He was reluctant, but I insisted. He was very thankful for the food. He works weekends, and only gets two days off in a row when there is a holiday (or he takes vacation). And he was there today, so we shared our food. He was surprised, and it made me happy. I like sharing happiness with others.



Mr. B & I don't celebrate Christmas. We don't buy each other gifts for the holiday (however, we will buy each other items that we've been wanting if we can find a good deal). But we do-up the holiday for Little Monster. When we found out I was pregnant we decided we'd have to start celebrating Christmas when he turned 3. We want him to have a "normal" child-hood (whatever that means). We put up the tree. We wrap the presents. We hang the stockings. I even make Christmas cookies. And Mr. B's god-father comes over for dinner.


Christmas music gets irritating after the first day. It's all the same songs, just different artists and different versions. They get boring. People say "it's the most wonderful time of the year" and "'tis the season for giving" but to me it seems like people are generally more stressed, rude, and annoying.

I've been late to work almost every day because of other people. Two days ago I decided that I am going to start taking pictures on my cell phone any time something I can't control causes me to be late for work. That was the day someone double parked out front blocking my parking spot. That is an idea I may hold true to.


Little Monster loves Christmas. He was so excited to decorate the tree while we watched "A Muppets Christmas Carroll" and ate cookies. He was so excited to wrap presents for his dad, his cousin, and for me. He was so excited to see presents for himself under the tree and try to guess what they could be (he is very good at guessing).

Tonight he got to open his biggest gift and his stocking. The biggest gift was a futon because Mr. B & I decided it was time to upgrade him to a big boy bed (and he's been begging for a futon--it's a Transformer bed). The stocking had a lot of small toys in it, but instead of playing with his new toys he's been playing in the box that the futon came in. It's his "secret hide-out."

A lot of the things I've been doing with him (decorating the tree, watching 'A Muppets Christmas Carroll', playing in boxes) all remind me of some of the best times in my childhood.

-Decorating the tree was my favorite part of Christmas growing up. I remember always wanting to put up the ornaments that my grandmother had made (she hand crocheted and beaded them). Even though I don't like to celebrate Christmas for myself, I find myself wishing I had one of those ornaments. (The ornaments looked something like this.)

-'A Muppets Christmas Carroll' reminds me of my favorite Christmas. My grandparents had just moved close by and it was our first Christmas at their new place. That was the first time I watched that movie and the first Christmas that it didn't feel like our family was poor. Every Christmas after that felt progressively less poor, but that Christmas is the most memorable to me.

-Little Monster playing in the box reminds me of when I was young and we used to play with appliance boxes. The refrigerator boxes made the best forts! My dad would tape all the ends up and then cut us doors and windows and we would play for hours in the boxes. I remember it was the summer my younger brother Rett was born, we spent hours playing in those boxes and using "Squeez-it" bottles as water guns. We'd take a couple trash cans and fill them up with water, then fill the "Sqeez-it" bottles up with water and put them in the trashcans... we'd have a couple trash cans filled up like that in the middle of the lawn and then we'd all have a water fight... we grabbed one, sprayed someone, grabbed another, sprayed that one out and just kept going until they were all empty, then we'd start all over again. I can't imagine how high my parents water bill must have been.

All right, time to get my boy out of his box and put him to bed... he mentioned that he might want to sleep in the box. I just can't imagine that it would be easy to get out of in the event that he needs to use the bathroom... we'll see.



What is your favorite Christmas memory? Are there other good memories that have popped up recently? Talk to me.