Bah Humbug!

Anyone else think its funny in a Beavis Butthead/South Park kind of way that I accidentally typed "Bah Humbung" before correcting it? Oh, ok..I guess its just me!

Warning! Sappy, pity post ahead.

Back to the task at hand. Bah Humbug! Maybe that's too harsh...and should just be shortened to Bah!

It's not that I hate the holidays but am bummed as to what they have become for me (cue the violins). Especially when I reflect on what they used to be compared to what they are now.

Christmas Past
1. Chopping down our own Christmas tree from the many that grow near our family cabin or home. And then decorating it with ornaments that each had a special story connected to them.

2. Smells of the hundreds of kinds of cookies my Mom used to bake ahead of time. She'd get so mad when she'd go to our freezer in the basement only to find out that many of the cookies she had made and frozen for "special occasions" had been "sampled" by the other 5 people living in the house. Leaving her sometimes with only crumbs at the bottom of the container.

3. Ice skating

4. Going to church Christmas eve in our small town (population 1200) and squeezing everyone in the pews. Seeing all the college kids home for the holidays and the communal singing of carols by the candlelight of the church and the snow softly falling outside.

5. The magic of Christmas morning with the squeals of delight at the opening of packages.

6. Visiting with cousins over for the "big meal" and doing crazy things like having an olive eating contest (to this day I can't eat black olives due to a "Let See Who Can Eat the Most Black Olives contest") or offering to do dishes so we could drink the left over bits of wine in glasses. Good times!!!

7. The Christmas night parties. Our family hosted several parties Christmas night where friends came over to play games and sing crazy made-up lyrics to holiday songs.

8. Meeting up with friends at the local ski lodge on our days off from school.

That seems so long ago. And I guess it was...over 20 years ago...

Now...
1. Christmas is spent in S. Padre with friends and family. Which has been fun in its own way..but not the same.
2. Christmas decorations are hit/miss for me. This year its been a "miss." I just have a few things up.
3. The tree is fake....and small...After buying a real one down here that came with a free "gecko" and other insects, I just stick to the artificial ones.
4. The cookies, no matter how many times I make them..just don't taste the same as Mom's.
5. I'm driving with the AC on listening to Christmas music on the radio.
6. I do enjoy looking at the all lights and is one of my favorite things to do.
7. Sometimes killing myself (or my bank account) trying to find the perfect gift, recipe, etc to bring back the magic.)
8. I still get choked up seeing those I presume are going through chemotherapy (lack of hair) while remembering my December two years ago spending every Friday in December taking my Mom to chemotherapy and remembering how tough that Chrismas was for us..and thinking whats ahead for the person undergoing chemo now.

I'll be glad when New Years rolls around.