THE HOLIDAY HUSTLE
My daughter e-mailed me a spreadsheet
titled, ‘The Family Holiday Schedule’. Get this: At eight o’ clock Christmas
morning I will receive a “Merry Christmas” static-cell-phone call (can you hear
me now) from my daughter as her hubby and three of my darling little
grandbabies travel the freeway, from her mother-in-laws home where they spent
Christmas Eve, over to her father’s place where she will have Christmas brunch.
Oh but wait, she may be in a ‘dead zone’. Then if that does not work, I will
receive my ‘personal’ Merry Christmas
phone call at three in the afternoon, because by then, they will be traveling
along another jam-packed road to her husband’s fathers place for Christmas
Dinner. Confused? Yeah so am I. In addition, it doesn’t stop.
Mind you, according to the sixth revision
I received, Keelyn will be stopping at the store for a ‘dessert party tray’.
Excuse ME? What is wrong with that girl? We don’t ‘do’ store bought. What
happened to homemade goodies? (She must get that from her fathers’ side of the
family.)
Bottom line, I’m not sure how many
rollover minutes have been allotted for my phone call. Nevertheless, I’ll make
sure I’m not going potty around eight or three on Christmas Day. Talk about
stress. Scheesh! Don’t get me wrong, this ‘tude’ is not just from my daughter.
Two months ago, I was so excited when I
made a called to my son Ryan. The conversation went something like this. “Ryan
I found a place to buy! It’s on two
acres, only three hours from Seattle.
It’s empty so I’ll be able to move-in before winter hits.”
Now the phone connection is perfectly
clear, so, I heard exactly what was
said when my son automatically mumbled. “Oh great, another person we have to
‘fit in’ during the holidays.” Ya-Ouch!
However, once I got over being
totally-ticked-off, I realized my son had set me free. I now can clearly admit
that I’m the one with the issues because we are products of our generational
upbringing. My role models were June Cleaver, Timmy’s mom and the Nelson
family. Heck, even Jodie and Buffy had Uncle Bill and Mr. French. My goal in
life was to have that perfect close-knit family holiday gathering every year. I
want to see a smile on everyone’s face. I want each one of my children to have
thoughts of… ‘There’s no place like home
for Christmas’.
Well, I best get over it because in
today’s world, diversity seems to be the name of the game. Honestly, with the
extensive and diverse families being the ‘norm’ nowadays, family-traditions
have changed. My children are intimate with the likes of Ozzie Osborn, Paris
Hilton, and Britney. Oh and let’s not forget the famous ‘nomad’ family, Brad
and Angelina. Therefore, I’m changing my mind-set. I’m staying put.
In 2009 if you want to see me over the
holiday, come to Alabama where you will get lazy slow-paced days and an option
of fishing with a cane pole. At dusk, you can sit on the dock, watching mullet
jump in unison while dolphins dance in the brackish backwaters of Perdido Bay.
At night you may enjoy taking the paddleboat down Palmetto Creek to gaze at the
star-filled skies, no big-city traffic hassles, no cell phone reception…all you
have to do is chill-lax. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
