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!