Bobbird3131

We went to Maryland for Christmas this year. My husband Marvin told his daughter Sherry, that it would 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve before we got there. The truth was that we left home early and would get there before 9:00. Every time Sherry called to see how we were doing on the road he would whisper to me “now don’t laugh” and tell her we would see her about 10:30. When we pulled up in the drive at 8:45, the kids said to Sherry, “Grampa’s here” and she said “no he isn’t, it’s too early”. To which they responded, “if that’s not Grampa’s van, why is Gramma in the front seat”?

After she kissed him and smacked him in the head for playing a trick on her, we brought in the luggage and sat down to open one present from Santa. We all got Christmas lounging pants, which we put on to stay up and eat cookies until the kids went to sleep. We slept in Beth’s room, which she willingly gave up for us. Her sister Melissa turned the closet in her room into a bedroom for Beth. She made up a little bed on the floor, moved in a tiny nightstand with a clock and a book, and even put a picture on the wall for her.

Before we went to bed we met Le-Le, the new dog. She’s a coal black Pomeranian, including her eyes, with the sweetest disposition you could ask for. The two cats are not impressed with her though. Kitty ignores her but Sunshine sneaks around behind and bats Le-Le in the head at every opportunity. The poor dog won’t use the pet door to go out because she is afraid Sunshine is on the other side waiting to give her a smack.

The next morning we got up to three kids wriggling on the couch waiting for all adults to get in the living room so the fun could begin. We started with stockings. I got Hello Kitty pencils and pencil case in mine. I told everyone how happy I was that Santa knew all about my love of Hello Kitty. That made Melissa extremely happy, as she had been Santa’s helper for that gift. Sherry had told me (in confidence the night before) how proud she was to buy those with her own money for Gramma.

After stockings, the kids got to open their presents and I had as much fun watching as they did opening. In the middle of it all Sherry got three gifts from Phil, which he tried to pretend weren’t from him by putting the kid’s names on the tags. She grumbled a bit since they had agreed not to give each other gifts – just spend the money on the kids, but it was only half-hearted. She got a beautiful bath and body set with lots of body butter, a 40 piece Rubbermaid set and a box of gourmet teas, all things she loves. Her husband Phil has not always been a deep thinker when it comes to gifts so it was really sweet.

I’ve decided to write about my Christmas every day until I run out of things to say. This is enough for today so stop by tomorrow for “What the Kids Got for Christmas”.

I miss my kids desperately this Christmas – more than I have in some time. Stef has moved to a wonderful new life in New York and I saw her at Thanksgiving but I can feel a wave of longing sweep over me just writing this.

I called my daughter-in-law Tracy on Saturday. It was a Secret Santa call so I just talked to her. Before we hung up she said “we miss you” and I practically broke down over the phone. I wanted to jump in the car right then and go see them all.

I wonder if this is how my mother feels about me.

Oh, and the “gifts just for the grand kids” idea we (my husband and I) tried to start 3 years ago after he retired and money got tighter, has gone by completely by the wayside for me this year. It started with giving gifts to my daughter’s cats that they could “share” with her and her sweetie. Then it exploded when I made the Secret Santa call for sizes and finished the order I had saved on my laptop for Wayne and his family.

I love the holidays. I like the cards, the lights, the food, the church pageants, the gifts, the movies, all of it. I also love giving gifts so I think that 3 year old idea is so dead for me.

We will be going to my stepdaughter’s for Christmas. I will see people I love and I will have a wonderful time. It’s just that every once in a while I wish I could beam my children and grandchildren into my living room and we could have a big group hug.

Sunday afternoon we went to a cookie party. Our hostess spent a week making cookies and the rest of us were supposed to make one kind to share. I made chocolate, cherry, coconut cookies which proved very popular. You were supposed to eat some there and take some home; but after 2 hours of eating, most of us didn’t want to see another cookie. We did have a wonderful afternoon visiting with our friends and checking out what everybody brought.

Sunday night we went to the children’s play at our church. It was hilarious and touching all at the same time. It’s stuff like this that makes me love the holidays.

Guess what I’m doing this weekend? Sheetrocking!! Marvin just called me from Lowe’s to ask if I had any plans for this weekend because he wants me to be his construction helper on Saturday. He’s wiring today and we will close in the walls tomorrow. This bathroom is moving right along. Do I already have any plans for the weekend? Let’s see: a meeting Saturday morning, prep to teach Sunday School, proof the visual presentation for church, make cookies, take cookies to cookie party- no, I’m fine.

My sweetheart Marvin is putting a half bath in our house and I am so excited. This place has more closets than I have ever seen in a house this size but only one bathroom. That can really be a problem when both of you have the stomach flu at the same time. We decided to eliminate one closet, carve a little room out of my study and voila! crappers for two.

Of course any remodel project has it’s little inconveniences. My clothes are all in Marvin’s study closet. The rest of my stuff is under a big sheet on the guest bed. Everything, including the cat, will have a fine layer of Sheetrock dust before he is done. It’s a small price to pay.

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9 Layers
A meme to peel away the layers of you.

Layer One:
- Name: Bobbird3131
- Birth date: November 24
- Birthplace: Vermont
- Current Location: Tennessee
- Eye color: Hazel green
- Hair Color: gray & white
- Height: 5′ 7″
- Righty or Lefty: Right
- Zodiac sign: Sagittarius

Layer Two:
- Your Heritage: English
-The shoes you wore today: green Mary Janes
- Your weakness: chocolate
- Your fears: Involve my children
- Your perfect pizza: thin crust, lots of olives, onions, peppers and pepperoni
- Goal you’d like to achieve: Be published

Layer Three:
- Your most overused phrase on AIM: I am not a chatterer
- Your first waking thoughts: I like my work but I don’t want to go in just yet
- Your best physical feature: My hair
- Your most missed memory: I miss my dad.He died when I was 15.

Layer Four:
- Pepsi or Coke: Coke – it’s not as sweet
- McDonalds or Burger King: McDonald’s
- Single or group dates: Single
- Adidas or Nike: WalMart
-Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Freshly brewed Lipton please!
- Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
- Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee

Layer Five:
- Smoke: Used to smoke a lot
- Cuss: When I am angry my construction background comes out
- Sing: Yes, soprano
- Take a shower everyday: Try to – most days I succeed
- Do you think you’ve been in love: Heavens yes
- Want to go to college: I thought I did until I actually started taking classes
- Liked high school: Loved the learning, hated the socializing (terminal introvert)
- Want to get married: I am and I love it
- Believe in yourself: Yes
- Get motion sickness: Yes, if I read
- Think you’re attractive: Yes
- Think you’re a health freak: No
- Get along with your parents: My Mom is still alive and a great friend
- Like thunderstorms: Very much.
- Play an instrument: An Omnichord

Layer Six: In the past month….
- Drank alcohol: No, haven’t had a drink in 20 years
- Smoked: No
- Done drugs: no
- Made out: At every opportunity
- Gone on a date: Yes, to the symphony
- Gone to the mall: Yes
- Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No, but I did eat a box of chocolates
- Eaten sushi: No
- Been on stage: No
- Been dumped: No
- Gone skating: No
- Made homemade cookies: No
- Gone skinny dipping: No
- Dyed your hair: No
- Stolen anything: This meme

Layer Seven: Have you ever….
- Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yes
- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yes
- Been caught “doing something”: Almost by his Mom
- Been called a tease: Yes
- Gotten beat up: Head slammed against the wall in the girl’s room in first grade
- Shoplifted: As a kid I had a run of it until my mother “had a talk with me”
- Changed who you were to fit in: I had a spell of being a chameleon but I’ve given that up. It’s much more fun to be yourself and watch the reaction

Layer Eight:
- Age you hope to be married: I’ve already been married…. twice
- Names of children: Wayne & Stef
- Describe your dream wedding: The second one
- How do you want to die: Old and quickly
- Where do you want to go to college: I don’t want to go now
-What do you want to be when you grow up: Ask me when I’m 80
- What country would you most like to visit: Scotland

Layer Nine:
- Number of drugs taken illegally: One
- Number of people I could trust with my life: 3
- Number of CD’s that I own: 150+
- Number of piercings: 2
- Number of tattoos: 0
- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Lots. When I was a small child, our local paper published news on baptisms, birthday parties, meeting attendance. I was in there a lot.
- Number of scars on my body: 2?
- Number of things in my past I regret: 3

God. I like to think that I have a personal God, some kind of benevolent grandfather like figure peering over my shoulder helping me out with life. But some days I’m not so sure. I just can’t see the grandfather type letting the world go to hell like this.

Does this mean there is no God? Does it mean he’s less of a benevolent grandfather and more of a switch swinging pissed off father? Or maybe it means there is a God but he’s not personally interested in me. Instead he’s just “out there” watching while I make a mess of his handiwork.

I go to church regularly. I teach Sunday school, am the secretary of our church’s women’s group, develop and maintain our website and give the children’s sermon several times a year. I also do, from scratch, every week, the presentation that puts the Sunday pictures, songs, birthdays, prayers and scriptures up on the big screen for everyone to see.

I do all this for no monetary compensation and I also have a full-time, paying job. In addition, I have my husband Marvin. He is very self-sufficient, but he deserves time with me when I am not in a semi-coma from church, work and another group I am involved with.

I’m exhausted just reading the list of things to do and I’m thinking that it’s not that I don’t believe in God. I’m thinking it’s that I’m so tired doing his work that I’m a little pissed off myself. I’m too tired and don’t feel I have time to do the stuff that puts you closer to a higher power.

I don’t pray in the morning like I used to. I still pray but it’s quick and half the time I’m still in bed half asleep instead of on my knees. I have the same problem at night. When I’m that tired I forget the people I want to pray for. I also forget the things I wasn’t very happy about when I did them, so I can’t reflect on how I might avoid doing them again.

I don’t meditate like I used to. I still read my meditation books but it’s not in the morning in my study with a cup of coffee before I go to work. It’s at work, on line, whenever I have a minute between phone calls and agent requests. Somehow when I read this, it that doesn’t sound like quiet time.

So maybe God is just “out there” watching while I make a little mess. He knows I have the tools for a full spiritual life with him but I’m just not using them very well right now. Now that I think of it, that could apply to our entire planet. Maybe he is out there waiting for us all to get our heads out of our collective asses so we can take some time to meditate on his take on life.

I think I’m going to have to give up a few things that are eating up my time so I can gain something better.

We just had our office Christmas party. It was a noon time pot luck. The owners brought turkey, ham, potatoes and gravy. The rest of us brought anything you could want, from chocolate silk pie to slippery beans (it’s the south).

We ate, we talked, we laughed, we ate some more. We are a good group and we all like each other (most of the time), so it was a fine afternoon.

About the time things broke up, the owners gave me my Christmas bonus. It’s always in cash (which I like very much), and it’s always in a card with a heartfelt sentiment. Here is this year’s. I think they really got it right.

I’m a little blah today. After weeks of waiting for Thanksgiving weekend, the fun of seeing my daughter and having time to get to know her sweetie, it seems as though the excitement has gone out of my life. It’s partly because I ate too much, slept too little and spent four days in a row not having to work.

The other part is separation. Stef lights up the room when she comes to stay. When she leaves things seem dimmer and there’s a little hole where she used to be. I know it’s temporary and I will be all better soon. In fact, writing this makes me smile at what a fine time we all had. This picture is of Dave on the Bristol, Tennessee side of State Street.