Amber called her uncle, said “We’re up here for the holiday,
Jane and I were having Solstice, now we need a place to stay.”
And her Christ-loving uncle watched his wife hang Mary on a tree,
He watched his son hang candy canes all made with red dye number three.
He told his niece, “It’s Christmas Eve, I know our life is not your style,”
She said, “Christmas is like Solstice, and we miss you and its been awhile,”
So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses.
The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had gone without a hitch,
Till Timmy turned to Amber and said, “Is it true that you’re a witch?”
His mom jumped up and said, “The pies are burning,” and she hit the kitchen,
And it was Jane who spoke, she said, “It’s true, your cousin’s not a Christian,”
“But we love trees, we love the snow, the friends we have, the world we share,
And you find magic from your God, and we find magic everywhere.”
So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And where does magic come from? I think magic’s in the learning,
‘Cause now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning.
When Amber tried to do the dishes, her aunt said, “Really, no, don’t bother.”
Amber’s uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father.
He thought about his brother, how they hadn’t spoken in a year,
He thought he’d call him up and say, “It’s Christmas and your daughter’s here.”
He thought of fathers, sons and brothers, saw his own son tug his sleeve, saying,
“Can I be a Pagan?” Dad said, “We’ll discuss it when they leave.”
So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.
– Dar Williams – “The Christians and the Pagans”
Thought I would share this song lyric here today, and a bit about how we spent the holidays so far… I am still struggling with the chest cold, and now Bernie has it as well. We didn’t get much of anything done in time for any of the holidays… I had the tree set up, but undecorated, in the corner of my very messy livingroom for Solstice, and some holiday greenery outside. The buddhas were wearing their special red and green crystal prayer beads, Bernie’s menorah waiting unlit on the mantle, and my bathroom all decorated with its holiday curtains, towels, wreath and candle (I had done that early this year — before I got sick) I kept plugging away at cleaning, shopping and decorating for the next few days, but the congestion in my chest made everything such a chore. It was like all my energy was drained.
I did manage to get the wreath’s for my grandparents’ and parents’ graves, and go visit them at the cemetery on Saturday in the unseasonably warm weather. That is a really important part of the holiday for me (but one my husband just doesn’t understand) I combined it with another trip that was especially good for my heart, visiting someone who had been like a second family to me when my home situation was at its worst (after my mom died) These were the people I worked for at the Nursery in the mid-80s. My life was a mess back then, but they took me in and treated me like family. I have always been grateful to them for that, and they will always hold a special place in my heart. I don’t visit that nursery very often, but try to get there at least once in the spring planting time, and again toward the holidays. If I am lucky enough to show up when they are slow, we get a chance to have a nice visit. Saturday I went there to buy the grave wreaths, and had a real nice chat with Al, who was minding the store. I waved to his wife, Irene, when she walked out in the backyard of the house next door, and hollered Merry Christmas to her too. And I stood in a greenhouse for a while, just soaking up the nice warm, oxygen rich air…just what my poor beleaguered lungs needed. The trip to the nursery, and then the cemetery, were real bright spots in my holiday, its hard to put into words, but, just more of those things one’s spirit requires…
Earlier on saturday, between last minute shopping, I decided to go to one of those walk-in salons with the $10 haircuts, and get my hair shampooed and cut, thinking it may make me feel better, since I was long overdue for a trim, and couldn’t keep my hair out of my eyes. Well, it was another of those Forrest Gump moments.. . $10 haircuts are definitely like a box of chocolates… The Latina stylist had a thick accent and distinct trouble understanding what I wanted done — and I know I wasn’t too clear, because I didnt’ feel well enough to argue with her. I just knew I wanted it shorter, and a little more layered in the sides and front. Well, now you can call me Butch. She gave me a boys haircut — layered all around, and short. The shortest it has ever been. It isn’t all that bad, and it will grow, but it was quite a shock for me. Just like last time, with the somewhat longer bob, it seems the styist has given me old lady hair when what I wanted was rock star hair. I envision it messy, shaggy, that “I just rolled out of bed and I look fabulous” kind of look. they keep cutting it with sleek, evenly graduated layers…last time I thought, if it dried a certain way, it almost looked like Martha Stewart’s hair. Next time I get it cut, I am going to tell them I may look like an old lady on the exterior, but I am a rock star at heart, so please make my hair match!!
Bernie was feeling quite run down and tired to begin with – probably the Epstein-Barr flaring up again in response to the 12 hour days he was doing at the Post Office (such a busy time for mailmen) and then the same bug I had set in. He was feeling so bad by saturday when he got home from work, we decided to not go to his friend Albert’s house on Christmas day like we do every year, and to more or less put Christmas ‘on hold’ until he felt better. We went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of pre-packaged premade food, plus a spiral sliced ham and some cheeses, crackers, rolls, and so on, just in case we were up for some company. Picked up 30 nice glass Christmas balls for $2.98 as well! I wrapped his gifts on Christmas eve while he was sleeping, and left the rest of them for later, along with the housecleaning and any more decorating.
My brother’s two sons and their ladies were both going to be around this year for the holidays, and they planned on coming in to visit us on Monday. We had a nice chat on the phone on Christmas day (I miss my brother so much, we don’t see nearly enough of each other and he only lives 2 hours away) and decided to make the decision whether they were going to come here or not on Monday at around noon. Bernie slept most of Christmas day, while I spent the day puttering around with housecleaning, listening to Christmas music, and messing with the computer (installing an updated firewall, which then blocked me from Internet Explorer fdor some reason I just couldn’t figure out) I went up in the attic and brought down 2 boxes of stuff — the holiday pillows and collection of plush toys (Santa Bears and things) that are one of the best-loved parts of our holiday decorations, a few more ornaments and ornament hooks, and a garland for the mantle. Bernie got out of bed for a while, and we exchanged our gifts. He wasn’t able to fit in much shopping, but got me a few things, including a DVD I didn’t know existed — of the very last Grateful Dead tour in 1995. I was at quite a few of those shows, I look forward to watching it. He checked his temperature (was running a low fever) and went back to bed. Then I finally decorated the tree, and set all the holiday plushies under it (still didn’t have any gifts wrapped to put there) I fell asleep in the chair watching “Scrooged” on TV…
Then yesterday, we got up and Bernie went out to 7-11 for my coffee and his newspaper, and decided he felt well enough for the family to come visit later. That gave me 6 hours to clean the living room and kitchen, wrap their gifts, get a bath, and put the ham in the oven. My sister in law told me NOT to touch any food. She said the best thing to do to keep from spreading any germs was to minimize the contact. So I told her I would put the ham in the oven and leave the rest to them when they got here. I cleaned all the surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom really well with antibacterial cleanser, loaded up all the dishes that were overflowing the sink into the dishwasher, and took out all the trash from wastebaskets all over the house (all those nasty tissues!) I coulnd’t help thinking that the time I spent working in the kennel and at the vet was really helpful — because aseptic procedures come pretty naturally to me now.
My brother and his crew showed up just around 6. My nephew Wayne brought his 6 month old Pug/Jack Russell puppy, Bailey, along too. She is just a little bigger than my dogs, but they look about the same size because my girls are so fluffy. The three of them had a blast, playing and running around and chasing our 3 cats too. My Dolly is going to be 11 next month, and she and Pearl got thoroughly exhausted. nopt a peep out of them today — I think they are going to sleep for 3 days now. Which is what I would like to do as well. So I will continue about my holiday celebration with my family in the next entry. It was quite a nice one, is all I will say for now.
I hope everyone is doing well, and you have all had good holidays in your own ways, too.
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