Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! Sorry this comes a little late, but the sentiment is just as strong. And, I will take this moment to admit that I am slowly but surely working my way through a big Whole Foods molasses cookie that feels like the best thing I've ever tasted. At least that's the way it feels at this moment. Even better than the big Whole Foods lemon sugar cookie I made my way through about 20 minutes ago. You wouldn't believe the amount of justification I've been creating to eat my way through Texas this week. The mantra "Oh, it's the holidays, treat yourself!" has been running through my head each time an opportunity for gluttonous food consumption has presented itself. I guess this is what it feels like to be on the long road to obesity. I really want to get off this ride, but it's just...so...darn...fun!
We spent Christmas in Corpus Christi this year in a fashion that was really alien to my normal sense of tradition. Not because we were in Corpus, but because we spent the holiday with strangers, well at least, to me. Adam has a few friends from his Navy days that live down in the area and so after speaking with them, he made plans for us to stay on the navy base and visit with the friends during our stay. I've never before celebrated Christmas with people I didn't know. Both sets of friends were warm and inviting, though, which made the strangeness and reservations of being in a new person's house on the most intimate of family days a little easier. Plus, the first family had young kids so Bryony had two playmates and lots of toys to keep her occupied.
Maybe because my husband is Jewish or perhaps because of my own desire to de-materialize the holidays and emphasize "quality time spent," we have not been very good about showering Bryony with presents in either of her two Christmas experiences. Last year, I completely forgot to shop for her at all until Christmas Eve night, when I hurriedly picked up some bath toys and car window shades just so there was somthing under the tree. Not that she was old enough to even realize the significance of it all (she still isn't) but even still, I felt bad. This year, because all of our holiday decorations are still back in Michigan, we opted not to put up a Chritmas tree. I did buy a few lights and decorations that were on clearance and strung/hung everything around the fireplace mantel, along with our menorah and dreidels, just to feel a bit more in the holiday spirit. But once again, I didn't buy anything for Bryony before the holidays. I decided to make her gift this year--one I haven't yet finished so I'll post pix when I do--instead of getting caught up the consumerism that tv commercials are trying desperately to get us caught up in.
However, after leaving Corpus Christi we stayed the last part of the weekend in Austin, where there is a Goodwill store that Adam wanted to check out. After finding one outfit for Bryony, I decided to check out the toys, and lo and behold, I found two--a push corn-grazer (think kiddie lawnmower with plastic popcorn bouncing in a glass dome on top) and a colorful little electronic keyboard with plastic animals that sing when you press certain keys (creepy but she likes it). I hated buying either of those things for her because they seem kind of nonsensical to me--is she learning anything from them???--but I decided that for Christmas, not every gift has to fulfill an educational requirement. Bryony should be allowed to just have plain old fun, right?
So that has been our Christmas, full of travels, eating and fun. Now that Christmas is over, the travels have ended, the fun has subsided and we're back to our normal routine. Now, where did I put that last cookie?
Happy Holidays, everyone!
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