Freddie Fir made his way from a benevolent field of green to a plushie carpet of gray next to the fireplace. Finally realizing we were rounding the curve toward Christmas at breakneck speed we decided it was time to hustle and pick out the main player of the interior design. Although only open since November 26, the tree lot had gone through 1000 of the 1200 trees they usually pre-cut. That doesn't even count the ones you ax-down yourself.
Another week of painstaking work placing each ornament at precisely the correct elevation and distance from its brothers and sisters (theme this year is red and gold). However the multi-faceted light combinations available made picking one color or action (chasing, twinkling, fading, etc) difficult to settle upon. Though a slim member of the evergreen family was chosen, again I will not have enough room for all the packages that will soon adorn it's feet.
Stock market settled down after four weeks of incremental losses; though when the DOW is sitting at 36,000 it's hard to feel bad. The whining about inflation seems to affect only those things that we need that are costing us more, yet those things we want -Christmas trees, family trips to Florida, all the latest toys and adventures continue merrily on. So apparently the ones really affected are those who barely have money for groceries and gas. However, gas has dropped dramatically here which is what always happens. Groceries, not so much.
Speaking of groceries we hit the warehouse store so I could crab about grocery prices and discovered a treasured belief debunked. Standing behind a "little ole gal" I noted her cart was crammed with several types of baked goods and cookies. Aha! Grandma's cookies actually come from the store!! Perhaps she places a few in the oven on low temp to diffuse the fresh-baked aroma and "lie" to the grandkids. But between her yoga classes, race car fetish, classes on conversational italian and podcasting, Grandma has a lot less time than she used to. Soldier on I say.
Segueing to employee training, ahem, I watched a comical demonstration while waiting for my order at a local drug store. As the Manager was at the computer talking the new "emp" through the steps on a rather detailed transaction for me I noted the new "emp" standing off to one side, totally oblivious while cleaning her glasses. As I was in a unique spot I could see the whole exercise go down. The Manager never turned to see if her lesson was being understood and the "emp" was in la-la land waiting for someone to say GO I guess. Although my first instinct was to interrupt and say "she's not listening" I realized - not my problem.
A friend's Mother passed away this week and it brings up all types of emotions and memories. We don't remember the struggle of the last few years, if one has the gift of a long life. We remember the youthful parent who both frustrated and loved us standing staunchly in our corner whatever the challenge and being so familiar that we took for granted they would always be there waiting. The thought that we are now alone as the elders of the family and that the traditions our parents represented are changing is sobering. The goofiest memories, the cringe-worthy moments strike at the oddest times and the grief we put aside for a moment comes barreling back without warning. It gets better you think, but just not today.
Finished off the week with the grandson for an overnight this weekend. He was quite hilarious claiming staying with us meant he could just "chill" as he had experienced a rough week including various school yard injuries of both the physical and emotional types. Then switching gear from woe two seconds later he excitedly asked me "do you know what comprehension means?" "Yes, wait what do you think it means?" He told me, correctly, which was to preface that he got ten out of ten on his comprehension assignment. LOL.
As he does each year, Joe tested all the musical Christmas creatures we've accumulated over the years. When he was younger he would attempt to get all of the toys running at the same time, but the older version is more scientific. He experimented on which would last the longest and placed bets. He also relayed his approval to Grandpa (he knows who decorates) for his efforts on both outdoor and indoor decor and then claimed our Oreos (we have a cookies & milk ritual at 9 pm) were stale. Oh the truth of children. He finished out his visit by treating Grandpa to one of his Godzilla movies carefully explaining what was happening in each scene. He's one of those... Finally he dutifully helped his Mother blow out the candles on her birthday cake which her Mother (me) humorously marked her age with a series of 3's. Figure it out. Peace to All of Good Will....
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