My First Christmas in Heaven... 2009

I am re-posting a beautiful poem that my niece Kacee gave to me right after her mother and my sister TC died two years ago. As some of you know TC died Thanksgiving weekend, which makes me very aware that for some people, the holidays are a struggle with so much perceived happiness and joy going on around us.



This year I post it in honor of people who have touched my family’s lives and we will miss them.


Uncle Freddie, Chrissy’s uncle. Jimmy, Kat’s brother. Frank Zappa, neighbor, co-worker and friend. Grant, childhood neighbor and friend. Alex, classmate of Jordie’s. Nancy, friend and gentle soul. Baby Lily, a little girl whose spirit will live on forever. May they all smile down upon us on this Christmas day and always.


If you too have someone you have lost this year or year’s past, and this poem touches you the way it did me, I encourage you to list his or her name in my comments section. Sometimes it helps to know you are not alone.


My First Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless trees around the world below.
With tiny lights, like heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear.
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.


I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear.
But the sounds of music can’t compare with the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring.
For it is beyond description to hear the angel sing.


I know how much you miss me.
I see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away, we really aren’t apart.


So be happy for me dear ones,
You know I hold you dear.
And be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.


I send you each a special gift from my heavenly home above.
I send you each a memory of my undying love.
After all “Love” is the gift, more precious than pure gold.
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.


Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do.
For I can’t count the blessings or love he has for you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away the tear.
Remember, I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.


(Anonymous)

We love and miss you TC.

Merry Christmas

And Happy New Year!!!

Monstrosity or Martini?

The three “of them” as I like to refer to my family when we are on opposing sides of an issue, were initially annoyed that our large Christmas tree was not up and decorated after the Thanksgiving weekend. This year was going to be different I insisted; I am not going to be the only one decorating the damn thing!



Typically, Mike and I put the monstrosity together on a Saturday morning which never ends in good holiday cheer. Next, the lights need to go on but that takes until Sunday night because we are still too pissed off at each other over the engineering of the tree from the day before! Therefore, that leaves Monday when they are back at school and work for me to get out the ladder and commence to decorating. And I’m here to tell you from past experience… Bailey’s Irish Crème in my morning coffee and a 10-foot ladder is no way to start your week!


By last weekend, annoyance gave way to snarkiness when the tree was not only still M.I.A., but I was clearly drawing a line in the sand. If they did not all chip in and help me get it up, lit AND decorated by last Sunday… the deal was off.


Did-not-happen!


Fast forward to this weekend and the three musketeers are simply aghast!


There is a new holiday sheriff in town and I’m doing things my way!


We now have a small yet tasteful slim tree in the family room where we spend most of our time together anyway. The chandelier, which can be enjoyed from said room, is filled with oversized Christmas ornaments and glittery snowflakes are hanging from its crystal beading.


Lovely!


But the pièce de résistance this year is in the room formerly known as the “Christmas Tree Room” during the holiday season; it is a brand new shiny Red Martini Set there to welcome all who enter!


It is festive and bright and has invoked as many “Ooh’s and Ahh’s” from our guests as the monstrosity has in years past!


I will admit to a few pangs of sorrow; Oh, how I love rediscovering my treasured ornaments each year as I choose the perfect spot from which they hang.


Nevertheless, sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do to make her point.


And if I don't make my point this holiday season, at least I can make Santa a kick-ass Martini…


Sláinte!

Say it with me kids...

DEBACLE.



Holidays stress me out.


I don’t know when this all began, I used to adore them. Over the top decorating, big parties that I wrote clever invitations to; I was Merry, Merry, Merry!


The last couple of years, I have managed to create even more angst to my holiday season in the form of “home improvement projects”!


Was it just last year, (or the year before that) we tore the entire entryway up? The stairs to the upper level were literally ripped out. It was hard enough for those of us with two legs to navigate our way up to bed at night, poor Tucky had many narrow escapes from an early demise. That obstacle course put a damper on me and Mikey’s holiday drinking too; one needed to be sober to navigate that death trap successfully.


Hardwood floors redone? Yep… I remember I chose the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas for that too! Suffice it to say it was a disaster and they had to come back after the New Year to do it again… this time using the correct color of stain! My heart still pounds just thinking about that debacle.


“Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior”, they say.


Well there you have it.


Yesterday, on a whim… I tore out two entire rooms of carpet. Full disclosure: my sister-in-law Kat came over to help, (aka: run this project). I had called her for advice regarding my idea, but had talked myself out of it on the same phone call having quickly overwhelmed myself. “I should probably wait until after the holidays” was my new found and very sane thought. “Well what are you doing right now?” she asked me. “Sitting on the couch, drinking coffee and apparently talking myself out of a hare-brained idea”, I replied as I glanced at the clock; 9:15am. Kat is a machine; “I’ll be over in an hour to help you, find some sharp blades!” Ru-roh…


You should have seen the look of horror on Mikey’s face when he unexpectedly stopped by the house between meetings that morning. In a mere 45 minutes, Kat and I removed carpet, pad and staples from the two adjoining rooms! Even more amusing was Kat’s attempt to cover for me… “What are you doing home, we’re not done yet”… or something like that! Done yet? We don’t even have a plan much less a plan to be done!


This is the room we decorate our 10-foot Christmas tree in, which is usually up for Thanksgiving. Today marks the first day of December; Nicholas, our Christmas Elf, is aghast.


So as I scurry around painting baseboards today, stressing over the contents of my dining room hutch laid out all over my kitchen table for God knows how long and second-guessing my own sanity, you all enjoy your beautifully decorated, Christmas-ready homes. Light a cozy fire, get out your Christmas Cocktail recipes, and be sure the timer is set for your perfectly strung outdoor lights (another failure of ours, Nick points out daily).


Moreover, if you are truly in the holiday spirit… invite me over for a drink; I need one!


Peppermint martini anyone?