Bah! Humbug!

There is a funny cartoon about two beautiful tree ornaments discussing the stockings over the mantle. One says, “I’ve heard they are really hung!” Well, I suppose a hung stocking is better than one that is not hung. What do you think?

On a slightly more serious tone, what do you want to find in your stocking this holiday? Is that different from what you expect to get in your stocking?

I know what I want – I’d like my SO to be able to be here with me over the holidays. What I expect I’ll get is “ashes and switches” (oh my!), because I don’t always act very nice about him not being here. As grateful as I am to have him in my life, I still get pissy when he is obligated to be somewhere else instead of here with me, especially over holidays.

There are several very funny video clips going around about how men don’t always give the right gift at Christmas. I remember getting a mixer one Christmas from a husband. He couldn’t understand why I was a little upset, even though I needed the mixer. We women can be a funny lot, don’t you think?

Then there was the opposite gift from my second husband that he paid $60 for at Victoria’s Secret. It was a flimsy red, see-through shorty nighty with fluff around the bottom and a few spaghetti straps here and there – something that anyone who really knows me would exclaim how inappropriate it was. As it turned out, he enjoyed wearing it a whole lot more than I did! (Yes, you heard that right!)

For me, the message is not about receiving diamonds or jewelry of any kind, but about a gift that reflects a little thought – a gift that indicates the giver knows who I am really. The fluffy red costume showed a total lack of that understanding.

There are no material presents that can make up for the lack of your lover’s presence, however, no matter how understanding s/he may be.

So I’m having a difficult time getting into the spirit of Christmas this year. I put a red candle in the middle of my table, bought a beautiful poinsettia, and put a snowman mobile at my front door. Other than that, I didn’t put up any decorations.

Although I do feel a bit of the old "Bah! Humbug!" I know better than to sit home and mope. As I drive around, the lights on the homes of other people help to buoy up my spirits. I put my Christmas CDs on, turn up the volume, and play them so I can listen to them outside and anywhere else in the house. I’ll go to several parties that friends are having, and get dressed up.

By the time I write my next post, Christmas will be over and we’ll be looking toward 2009. In the meantime, I’d love to know what you want for Christmas, as well as what you expect, and the reason for the difference.

I blow you a kiss ~ ~ ~

Fanny