Hear me out. I'm not saying that I object to celebrating the birth of Christ. I don't even mind food and fellowship and a few gifts to let others know I'm thinking about them and give us all something to look forward to. But lets face it. This has gotten out of control. So here are the reasons I identify with the Grinch:
1. Larger than life inflatable lawn decorations. Well the Grinch didn't have to deal with these. Instead it was a sort of semi-automatic gun that spewed lights, but the effects are similar. Except in Whoville the darned things worked. Not in Realityville. When was the last time you saw one of those things that wasn't a sad, deflated sack at the end of the walk? I'll tell you when. When someone hooked the thing up to some kind of device that adds air to it all the time. Either way. I hate them. And the rest of the over the top decorating that happens this time of year.
I decorate. If you go a few posts back you can see the tree I put up every year. It's almost as old as my younger brother and shorter than the five-year-old. At the rate of one or two new, hand made ornaments a year the thing will officially be buried alive in about five years. We also have a nativity scene:
and a second diminutive tree that we put the little books from the advent calendar on.
And we have a lighted door wreath. But since we moved here (close to a decade ago) we have not had a good way to plug it in and haven't figured out one. Obviously I'm not going to win any prizes. And that's the point.
2. I Know that for some people Christmas is the loneliest time of the year. For others, it's all about being overwhelmed by the press of people and feeling alone anyway. I've experienced both of these. So did the Grinch. Kids help a lot with this. They can get pretty swept up, though, in the tide of constantly rising expectations. Which brings me to my next point.
3. Christmas traditions breed and multiply like dust bunnies under the bed. They will swallow you alive. Remember that scene where the Grinch has to taste the fudge and pudding and get carried around on the special chair etc. etc.? Yeah. Think ugly sweater parties, elf on a shelf, cookies for the neighbors, wrapping presents, putting up stockings, cleaning the house....
Well all right. I do a few of these. But I try to pick the ones that are meaningful to me and I'm really trying to keep the list from growing. On Christmas Eve last year we went to a Chinese restaurant for supper and then to a local church that has a puppet show in their Christmas Eve service. Then we came home and had a home made dessert before bed. That, I can sustain. Cleaning the house? Optional. Which brings me to my next point.
4. The Grinch and I are both terrible house keepers. I present this pictoral evidence:
I think it's a sign that we are creative types. But clearly adding the "stuff" of Christmas to this level of chaos is a stretch.
5. We both got engaged on Christmas day. Sort of. But that's a story for another day.
The part of the Grinch story I've always found a little disappointing is the part where he brings all the stuff back and then the town welcomes him with open arms. What I'd love to see is a version where he can't save the presents, they are smashed at the bottom of the ravine and he limps into town and they scoop him up and share one last, forgotten can of Who hash with him.
And now, it's the baby's nap time and he's needs help to fall asleep. I still have a cold and now Allen does too. Liam has been complaining all day that his tummy hurts when he moves, but I took him to school anyway because it was his class party. The last thing he said to me other than "Good bye" was, "I'll see you in two and a half hours - or less." So I'd better rest while I can.
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