Pre-flight Friday

Credit: Gregorio Catarino, X

Good morning. Happy Friday!! Happy Favorite Things Friday! It’s Christmas Eve/Eve/Eve! I am (like all of you I’m sure) a little pressed for time, so I’ll cut right to the chase and get to my favorite for today. My daughter was reunited with some of her best friends from high school the other night, and her friend got them each a personalized acrylic picture “plaque”, with their group picture on it. It has a scannable Spotify connection to a song that they all jammed to, all senior year long. At around $10 a pop, it’s a lovely, thoughtful gift that won’t break the bank. There are a lot of different versions of these available on Amazon. Do this search: custom picture/photo acrylic glass art music frame I noticed that the reviews on these aren’t amazing, but having seen one in person, I am impressed and my daughter loves it.

Wishing you all of the best on these countdown days! See you tomorrow!

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Pounding Heads and Flying Reindeer

I have a migraine headache today. Migraines suck. For years, I had myself convinced that it was my sinuses, so on top of the unrelenting pounding on typically one side of my head (today it is the left side), I would force myself to inhale copious amounts of saltwater with the use of various ancient torture contraptions called neti-pots. I effectively water-boarded myself, on a regular basis, to add to the torment that my body was already going through and I never understood why it didn’t work. What can I say, other than admitting that I can be a very obtuse, stubborn, know-it-all? I own that fact. (all of my friends and my family are nodding their heads vigorously, and clucking their tongues right now) Anyway, I worked with a woman who told me that she gets migraines and she described them and it is only then, in my mid-forties, that I realized that I am prone to migraine headaches. If you think you have sinus issues and these issues are not getting resolved, look up migraines. It could be an a-ha moment for you, like it was for me. I have medication now, that is usually very effective in thwarting my migraines, but I waited too long to take it, and I have a hair appointment in an hour or so, that I can’t cancel, because my stylist is headed out of town. My hair is already looking “ombre-ish” (not on purpose) with unsightly greys melding into faded out blondish-brown, that could use a major dose of color and shine. I don’t do wigs, and we have the usual list of holiday get-togethers/command performances, so today’s experience will be reminiscent of my previous self-torture days of a pounding headache, with my head in the sink, for what will feel like a never-ending eternity. Boo-hoo. Boo-hoo.

Enough of the complaining . . . . yesterday, my friend texted our group chat that yesterday was the anniversary of the “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer” Christmas special. The first one debuted in 1964. We got all excited thinking that we were the first kids to grow up, believing in Rudolph. We were the first kids to buy into the legend of a flying reindeer, with a glowing red nose. It turns out that the Rudolph song was written in the 1930s, so it was really our grandparents who were the first kids to have the red-nosed reindeer added to their Santa lore, but I don’t begrudge them for that, too much. They were the Greatest Generation and they deserve that distinction, and all the fun that Rudolph adds to the magic of Christmas. (I’m in Generation X. We don’t deserve anything – ha!) The Rudolph reminiscing got me to thinking about my children’s Santa experiences and that inevitable questioning that comes out, when their reasoning skills (and exposure to the outside world) start to become honed. My middle son is a scientist, at his core. He is the only person whom I have ever met who has used “Organic Chemistry” and “fun” in the same sentence. He likes things to be factual and black and white. He doesn’t like subtleties and nuances and philosophy and subjectivity. At all. So, when he started questioning the whole Santa scenario, he came to me, in a very serious tone. I think that he had been doubting the validity of the Santa chronicles for quite some time, but like every little kid that I know, he felt the need to hedge his bets. If, in fact, Santa was the real deal, and my son was a doubter, he couldn’t stomach the idea, of his siblings and friends, lavishing in their piles of shiny, new, exciting toys, while all he got was dirty, in his little pile of coal.

“Mom,” he said, looking me directly in the eye. “Look, to be clear, I still believe in Santa, okay, but, Mom, flying reindeer?!? I mean, come on?! I don’t believe in flying reindeer.”

Now I’m chuckling. Now my head is pounding even more. I hope that today, you get some chuckles from some of your fondest Christmas memories, minus any headaches. Now go do some decorating and jot down some poems to share, for tomorrow’s soul Sunday. Ciao.

Santa’s Snail Mail

We are starting to get our holiday cards in the mail.  I love getting them.  I’m always shocked that other people’s kids grow up, go to college, get married . . . I understand that the growing up process is happening to my family, but it stuns me a little bit every year to see the Christmas cards with everyone else’s families doing the same thing.  Still, I love rooting through all of the catalogs and credit card offers in the mailbox, for an envelope with some familiar hand-writing and a Santa stamp.  I rip the envelopes open, like an excited 5-year-old ripping off the Christmas wrapping paper, of an anticipated, desired gift.  This is because these cards are an anticipated gift of the season.  They never disappoint.

A friend told me once that when someone sends a family picture on their holiday card, you can guarantee that the mom will look great.  Everyone else in the family can look a little “off” – not looking at the camera, smiling a little too hard, someone’s head cut off, but if the family picture is being sent, the mom of the family, is looking good in it!  It makes sense.  Most of us female heads of household are also annual Christmas card designers.  If we’re going to go to all of that time, money and effort, we might as well feel great about the finished product.

I went to the Shutterfly website where they have a webpage dedicated to what to write in your Christmas cards.   There’s a whole list of sweet, meaningful sentiments.  They also list some funny things to write.  Here are a few that made me giggle:

  • Why are Dasher and Dancer always taking coffee breaks? Because they are Santa’s star bucks. Happy Holidays!
  • When you stop believing in Santa Claus is when you start to get clothes for Christmas. Happy holidays!  (This one made me laugh because my kids were never good at “hiding their disdain” when they opened up a box of clothes.)
  • “You know that you’re getting old when Santa starts looking younger.” – Robert Paul
  • Get your fat pants ready, it’s Christmas!

I hope that you all are enjoying the delights of the season, like the cherished cards from family and friends. Please let me know in the comments section, if my friend’s hypothesis is true.  One last idea from Shutterfly:

  • “Christmas is a time when everyone wants his past forgotten and his present remembered.” -Phyllis Diller