Wednesday, December 05, 2007

• It's the most wonderful time of the year.

  Currently Watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer By Burl Ives, Billie Mae Richards, Paul Soles, Larry D. Mann, Stan Francis see related

  I'm sorry, folks.  Really, I am.  I didn't mean to get all Christmasy.  But I went to my parents' house last night.  The radio kept talking about the big storm that was supposed to hit that night.  I get to my parents' and notice they've rearranged the furniture, but there's no tree up.  After Jeopardy, my dad starts flipping channels because House and Bones are both reruns, and he notices that "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is going to be on.
  
  "If we watch that, we have to put up your tree," I said.  Daddy grumbled and smiled a little, so I dashed down the stairs to get the tree-in-a-box.  We used to do the live tree with the prickly needles and the gorgeous smell and the bowl of water for the cats to drink underneath   Sometime after I graduated high school, things calmed down.  (I don't know if my brother will forgive me for that.)  Anyway, I brought up the tree as Burl Ives sang "Jingle Jingle Jingle."  Mama and I pulled it out of the box, piece by piece, and assembled it.  She started with the lights.  I frowned and we found another string to complete the job.  "Lights are all we need," said Daddy, but I pulled up boxes of balls and hand-made ornaments from when I was five.  I looked through the box and found a Santa pillow and a small Father Christmas puppet that we perched on a bookend on top of the TV.  I didn't put any ornaments on the tree, but Mama pulled out the birds and clipped them on artfully.  "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," "The Misfit Song," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" - all good stuff.
  
  For those of you who found that too sappy (it's not nearly as sappy as it would have been had I written this last night), let me tell you something else that made me laugh uncontrollably.  Do you remember when Rudolph and Yukon Cornelius et al bring back the Misfit Toys from their Island?  Santa says that he's sure he'll find an appropriate place for them.  I start thinking incredibly non-PC thoughts and then try to remember what actually happens to them.  Well, it actually gets better.  During the montage at the end of the movie, Rudolph, Santa, and company are miles high in the sleigh Christmas Eve night.  The Misfit Toys pop out of the big sack and Hermy the elf (or is it Herbie, we still don't know) prepares them for the kids.  And then he just DROPS THEM OUT OF THE SLEIGH!  First comes the owl who can't fly, only swim.  Hermy has an umbrella, presumably to slow the descent of the toys so they can fall safely into children's waiting stockings, but Hermy HOLDS ON TO THE UMBRELLA and the toys FALL TO THEIR DEATH!  Yeah, seriously.
  
  I drove home searching for the radio station that plays all Christmas music all the time.  I was determined to put up my own tree and lights and things, too, but that hasn't yet happened.  I did get a great Christmas present this morning, though.  Steve crept into bed in the wee hours and told me that he saw some cute bunnies in the snow in the front yard.  I oohed and ahhed and went back to sleep.  I awoke to hear my cell phone ringing.  My boss called to tell me not to come in because of the snow.  Yeehaw!  Visions of sugarplums danced in my head as I slept in and planned how to spend the rest of the day.  I just took a shower, during which I sang a loud and lively Christmas medley.  Now I'll go make chili, clean house some more, and put up our fake tree (which I don't remember actually buying... if I really hate it, we'll go get a real one tomorrow night).   A safe but beautiful three inches of snow lay beautiful on my lawn.  I so could have driven to work this morning, though I wouldn't much have enjoyed removing snow from my car.  Life is beautiful.  And Kaylee is sleeping on my arms.
  
  P.S.  I still would like input on my paper below.  It needs to grow a couple of pages, and I have some great ideas from you all so far   Thanks!
  
  P.P.S. I'm sorry for the awful writing today.  I think my brain completely shut down today.    SNOWDAY!
  

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