Business has really started to pick up at the restaurant, a sure sign that the holidays are upon us.
I used to get all into decorating the house and front yard, especially when the kids were younger. Now my youngest is over eighteen and living away at college so guess I'll get a tree and let it go at that. I have all the lights for the front bushes in boxes out in the garage but doubt I'll put them up. There's always that one strand which blows a fuse and they all go out, plus I used to love to come home from work and see the yard all lit up. Now I'd just drive home, see them and think about how the power bill was going up.
I did my fair share when the kids were little and it counted the most.
I haven't even THOUGHT about Christmas shopping. I've never been one of those early shoppers, even when Tim and I were making good money. We've always made sure all December's bills were paid before we even started to shop and then paid cash for what we purchased. It's still one of the best rules we've ever come up with.
I have plenty of memories of the kids at Christmas when they were little. We always put their toys and presents out, unwrapped like Santa had come. I've always been a server and most always worked nights. I can remember coming home from work or the in laws on Christmas Eve and wishing the kids would go to bed so I could get started on my Santa duty. More than once I can remember saying to the kids "You sound like you're coming down with a cold. You don't want to be sick Christmas morning, take this Benadryl, it'll help you stay well." After they were knocked out I'd get started and could be as loud as I wanted.
Now they are all older, we can enjoy Christmas as it should be enjoyed, "The Reason for the Season." It's the time to bake cookies and cheese straws. It's the time to go by The Salvation Army and pick up a small list of things some child wished for. It's the time to invite friends over who have nowhere to go on Christmas Day. It's the time to reflect and affect.
So we've had some hard knocks the last few years but if not making six figures a year again is the worst thing to ever happen to our family, we have been truly and sincerely blessed.
When I worked for the After School Program at my kid's elementary school, I saw kids who broke my heart. I'll never forget one little girl, she couldn't have been more than nine years old. Her momma was a big ole slob who didn't have a pot to piss in but always had a manicure and fake nails. Her daughter always looked ragged and dirty but was such a sweet girl. When the kids came back to school after Christmas break I remember my boss asking this little girl what she got from Santa? The little girl's face lit up and she said "I got a candy bar and a five dollar bill!" I think this was one Christmas when we bought our boys a PlayStation, and Massey got spoiled too.
How can you spend forty bucks a month on your ten finger nails but only spend five dollars on your daughter for Christmas? I still think about little Brandie and hope she survived and thrived.
Another little boy, Chase was just as pitiful. He came to school every day nasty and constantly had a snotty nose. His fingernails were long and disgustingly dirty. One day I kept him in when the other kids went out to play. I sat him down and took out some nail clippers. When I cut his nails, he cringed every time I pressed the clippers. How sad is it that a child is frightened of having his nails clipped because it happened so infrequently?
Here's my biggest gripe. If you don't want to take care of children or attempt to give them a good life...don't have them. If you are selfish, that's fine but don't bring a child into this world and then neglect them while you take care of yourself.
I'm stopping by The Salvation Army tomorrow to pick up a wish list.
Let me tell you MY wish list!
I wish people didn't hate so much.
I wish more people believed in Karma and The Golden Rule.
I wish I could immediately pay back all the people who have helped us survive the past five years.
I wish everyone cared.
I wish every person could see how even if their life seems bad there may be tens of millions who wish they had your life.
I wish the world well.
John Lennon may have had the best wish list of all:
So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
And what have we done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over over
If you want it
War is over
Now
Til next time, Merry Christmas, and remember the Reason For the Season.
COTTON
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