God Bless Us, Every One

Merry Christmas, dear readers. May you be able to weather what life throws at you this next year, too.

I always try very hard at Christmas to make things nice. To me, making (and eating) special recipes and seeing friends are the highlights of the season. And being with family. I don't like to travel during Christmas, but I sorely miss my kids. I have had a good time when my parents have come, and I am trying to extract promises from my married kids that they will be here next year!

However, for my husband, the presents are the thing. He always supplies me with a list. I try to buy everything I can, within reason. It is important to him to have a lot of stuff under the tree. This has been the source of yuletide conflict for 28 years now. When his mom was alive, it wasn't so bad because she'd go overboard and buy all kinds of stuff for the kids, and him. What I want is usually too expensive and complicated for my husband to buy. Also--when he buys me an expensive gift, I end up with the bill.

It would be quite simple for me to lay aside the cash, tell him what I want, and then use the cash to pay the bill. This does not, however, satisfy his longing for me to open a lot of gifts. What usually ends up happening is that I buy my own presents and then he wraps them.

So Christmas is often fraught with tension.

The other thing that happens is that my dear eternal companion wants to get involved with the gift purchases. Unfortunately, he usually expresses his interest about a week before Christmas--when everything has been selected, wrapped, and shipped by yours truly.

So, in 2009 I am going to pry my own perfectionistic, controlling fingers off Christmas and let him do it all.

I understand why we need God's blessings on us at this time more than any other!

The End of a Tumultuous Year

This year has been quite a doozy. I have had several friends pass away, which has been sad; all of them have died far too young. (I love and remember you, Rachel, Barbara, Dawn and Lynn.) I have traveled more this year than any other in my life: I have been to Utah twice, once driving; I have been to London, Las Vegas, and Nashville.

We also spent a great deal of money this year. Julie's wedding was wonderful, and by today's standards, not expensive, but it still cost a lot of cash. My dear daughter Meredith is a college freshman at an out-of-state institution, and we had to buy a new air conditioning system for our home, unexpectedly. Certainly the years we've bought houses and cars have essentially cost us more, but these were all cash layouts! At least you can finance a home or a car.

Finally, we have an empty nest after 25 years of parenthood. That's both good and bad. I dearly miss my children, but we have lots of fond memories, our little "family lexicon," thick scrapbooks, and funny videos to share and reminisce over. This year has definitely had some major turning points.

Now, after over eight years at a local home decorating store I am losing my job. The store's lease is up, and the strip mall owners want to raise the rent considerably. The bottom line is that in our recessionary economy, the store would no longer be profitable. So eight people are out of jobs.

Some of us can go to other local company stores. I might consider that--I really enjoyed my job and got very good at it. Then again, I might consider other possibilities.

I feel very fortunate that my income is not necessary for our family to stay afloat. I have options: try expanding my freelance writing business; work for a temp agency, find a different job. Maybe I should find a government job, work five years and save all my money, then splurge on the facelift I will surely need by then!