Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

I finally did it. I managed to get all the gifts but one bought and wrapped before Christmas eve. The last gift will arrive today as it was a very last minute decision. For years I've vowed to do the shopping in early December then have all the gifts wrapped and under the tree at least three or four days before Christmas. I've never followed through. I end up dragging my feet shopping for gifts, and when it comes to wrapping I am the last person anyone should ask to do this. I'm just horrible at it, mostly because I think the whole idea of buying wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, and little To: From: cards is absolutely ridiculous. Seriously, does anyone really cares about the presentation of the gift?  Brown paper bag wrapping.  Easy peazy. This year, I decided to not buy all the gift wrapping trappings. Instead, I saved all the brown paper bags I brought groceries home in and used them to as wrapping paper. I did buy a dollar bag of bows and a dollar package of To: From: st...

All the Christmas paraphernalia is tucked away for another year. I figured since it's all been up since Thanksgiving, it could all be taken down today. So it's down. Boxed up. Stored away. Ado tearing into one of his gifts! All morning I smiled as I worked. Yesterday with the kids was so much fun. The most ridiculous gift award goes to Funny Delightful Son. He very proudly handed me a small, heavy box as the first gift to open. I tore away the paper and looked inside. A shiny silver shut-off valve slipped into the palm of my hand. I raised my eyebrows, saying, "Thanks?" He just laughed. A few more gifts were opened around our circle. Lovely Beautiful Daughter squealing over the canvas tennis shoes I got her, and Angel Baby admiring the playmat for his new card game. Then FDS handed me another bigger box. I pulled the paper off and read the word Bidet . At that point the shut-off valve made sense. Ado with what was inside the box! I'm not sure who laugh...

After much consideration, if I were to give the award to something tangible, it would go to The Walking Dead Compendium , given to me by Hubby. Coming in a close second would be the Blackbush Irish Whiskey my Lovely Daughter's boyfriend gave to me. I have two other gifts I haven't tried out yet, a waterproof mp3 player and a lap counter for swimming, and I'm eager to see how both work out. Who knows--perhaps after their inaugural use, both of these just might surpass The Walking Dead Compendium as the best tangible Christmas present. However, contemplating this further, perhaps the best Christmas gift isn't the tangible one but rather the intangible, like the one I received over the course of several days. It started Wednesday, when I met a friend at the coffeehouse, where we chatted, wrote, and drank coffee or tea for several hours. That same day, I met another friend for lunch, and we talked until late into the afternoon. Then came Christmas Eve spent at home, all ...