Holiday Tidings

Greetings and Happy tidings to you.  I hope your Christmas was Merry and Bright, and that you are finding ways yet to enjoy this season.  I'm planning for football on New Year's Day, my beloved Hawgs will be playing in the "Capital One" bowl.  I'm trying for it to not irritate me that so many bowls are named for their corporate sponsors.  That's just ... tacky.

We are STILL not cleaned up from the huge pile of papers, boxes, wrappings, surprises and delights from Christmas morning.  (although we have made progress).  The boys opened all the packages and they are now more slowly opening the puzzles, games and toys. 

I was amazed over and over by how perfect the gifts were.  For example, Tucker got a puzzle that had a photo of hummingbirds.  How could the sender have known that he loves hummingbirds?  That his favorite part of Manitou Springs is the number of hummingbirds that cluster around hanging baskets.  Michael disappeared into his room yesterday with a Lego set and only emerged to show me his latest creation before going back to build something different. 

Oh yes, life is good with music, laughter, and time spent snuggled up together on the couch. 

Hugs for the Holidays

Terri

Talk behind my back ...

The boys have been talking behind my back.  I know because they came to my room for confession.  They've decided that it's only fair that on Christmas, the smallest should go first to open presents.  I suspect that Tucker contributed a LOT to that line of reasoning.  But see, that presents a problem for Michael because I'm smaller than him. 

Oh I love my boys!!!! 

bliz·zard   (blĭz'ərd)    

n.  

1. 1. A violent snowstorm with winds blowing at a minimum speed of 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour and visibility of less than one-quarter mile (400 meters) for three hours.
   2. A very heavy snowstorm with high winds.

No matter how you cut it, it's been a blizzard here in Colorado Springs.  It hit my place about 7:30 am yesterday, and it's still going.  Although the winds have slowed enough that I can now see across the street, I can't see much further than that.  I certainly couldn't see myself trying to get to work.  SO the boys and I are being forced to hang out on the couch and read, and crochet (they aren't doing that part), and watch DVD's. 

I did check the weather channel this morning, but it was only as an after thought.  I'd already emailed my boss wishing him a Happy Thursday without me. 

Tucker was supposed to bring a wrapped book to school yesterday for gift exchange.  He picked out an Avi book about Poppy the Deer Mouse.  And when he woke up and saw the snow his first words were, "YES!  That book is MINE!"  Heh... He didn't know that I'd already gotten him his own copy after I saw how excited he was picking it out.  So we brought out his copy yesterday, curled up on the couch and started reading. 

We have all the essentials.  Hot chocolate, Christmas cookies, crackers and cheese, ... I made black bean soup last night which didn't exactly thrill the guys, but we have spaghetti and meatballs on the menu for later today so they are pleased.  We don't NEED anything, but I'm tempted to go across the street to Safeway just because I'm probably one of the very few people in town who might COULD get there.  Someone should show up to make them feel good about being open. 

Friends

Friends of Friends

You know, I work for an organization that is dedicated to helping the working poor.  My Boss calls them "the invisible people" because he says that everyone assumes that the people they meet are just as well off as themselves.  We just don't "see" the working poor. 

The truth is that *I* am the working poor.  And Steve knows that.  This is why he just hired a person for our organization whose job will be to go out and find us money.  He would like to pay us but right now, he can't so we are living below the poverty line, trying to help other people who are below the poverty line. 

And there are days when I feel like a total fraud.  Because money isn't everything.  It's not even the most of things.  And in spite of how it looks on my tax return, I'm not poor.  I'm one of the wealthiest people I know.

I have incredible friends.  Friends who are funny, generous, and supportive.  Friends who have never once said any of the things I have been afraid I would hear (because I have heard them other places) - my friends have never said, "Well, you should have thought of this ...  before you had kids ... before you moved to Colorado ... before you got divorced ... before you took that job ..." 

My friends are spread all over the country from Virginia to California.  And this year, my friends ... my very good friends have broken my heart wide open.  

I told my kids last Spring that there was no Santa Claus.  I told them this because Tucker was having a conversation with me, the one that I think all kids have at some point after they get to be old enough to realize that toys and things cost money and that maybe Mom doesn't have all the money she'd like to buy such.  He said, "Don't worry Mom, I can wait til next Christmas, I'll ask Santa Claus for it."

Because I didn't want him to be disappointed, and because I loved him so much for trying to handle things in a way that would be easy for me.  I told him there's no Santa Claus but that we could work together to make Christmas very special anyway.  I told him there's no Santa Claus ...

... but I was wrong. 

Because this year, Santa Claus clothed himself in the faces of my friends, and some friends of friends whom I don't even know.  And they have poured gifts on us.  So many gifts that it's confusing and overwhelming and wonderful and awesome. 

There are more gifts under my tree this year than have been there in years.  Maybe even more gifts than ever. 

Growing up there were six people in my family.  Twice the number here under this roof, but we have as many packages piled around our tree as I remember from the wild and raucous Christmases of my childhood.  (And our Christmases were wild make no mistake.)

I don't even know who to thank. 

Today, FIVE MORE boxes arrived.  I just went to check the mail, and the people at the UPS store where I have my post box met me and told me, "You need to sign for something ... again."

Can you imagine?  I think (and God I hope I'm not leaving one out) but I THINK that this makes twelve boxes that have arrived.  Some of them are marked "do not open until Christmas"  Some I've opened already.  One had advent calendars that the boys have had enormous fun with.  One had COFFEE.    I sort of couldn't wait til Christmas to try it either and it's awesome.

What do you even say to something like this?  What do *I* say?

.

.

.

.

.

Thank you

Electric Safari

The boys and I got a treat last night.  I received a free pass for the three of us to go out to Cheyenne Mountain for the Christmas celebration. 

The advertisements were a little misleading, the meercats (sp?) were not awake or looking at lights.  Most of the animals were in fact hiding from the spectacle.  (The hippo was a notable if bad tempered exception.)

Electric Safari was awesome though.  Throughout Cheyenne Mountain zoo, lights in the shape of animals were interspersed with light strung trees and small campfires for pausing to get warm before the trek continued. 

Hugs and love to you.  I hope you are having a joyful season.

Definition

I'm supposed to meet today with the COO of our organization to discuss and define my role.  I have very mixed feelings about this meeting.  Before Wednesday, they had been very clear about the direction they wanted to go, who would be the next staff person they hire and so forth.  On Wednesday both of the guys came in having independently had epiphanies that change that plan.

Those of you who've been reading me for a while know how I feel about change - especially arbitrary change - and I've come to dread that boyish grin that tells me that the boss had an epiphany. 

I'll deal with it. 

Most of the epiphanies so far haven't related to me directly, but this one ... well, let me step back.  On Monday they asked me to turn in a formal request for the position I want to fill.  SO I did.  On Wednesday, their epiphany was that the position I requested is THE one they need to fill immediately.

So either they have decided to finally put me on a real salary and let me do what I do best.  Or, they've decided to hire someone to come in and argue with me about how I'm doing my job.  And as much as I'd like to believe I'm more mature than that, the truth is that no matter how smart you are or how much you've done this before, if you were to come into my office today and start telling me how to do my job, I'd argue with you.  I'm not that detached from my work.

It looks like a busy weekend ahead.  Final practice before the big game ... last shopping weekend before Christmas ... exciting stuff!

We've been invited to a brunch tomorrow morning.  I have an appointment to have my eyes examined for new glasses.  Then the boys are invited to my work Christmas party, which is cool because it's a bowling party at Mr Biggs.  Then we are going to Wonderland at New Life. 

This Christmas is turning into a wonderful one.  We are having a lot of fun and I'm learning again that at every age, kids are just cool.  I love their perspective and their innocence.  Every year I think, this is it, this is the pinnacle and next year won't be nearly this much fun.  I am determined to enjoy it for all it's worth so I can remember and be glad that I had this time.  Only, so far ... next year is always just as good or better!

I hope your days are bright and merry.  And that you are enjoying this season.

Nothing Much to Report ....

The Boys are Back

All that relaxed atomsphere from last week is done and over with.  The bosses are back from their various and respective trips to New York and Boston and the work load is back up to normal as well.  That mean I've been hopping this week. 

Had a meeting yesterday with a representative of another company that wants to use our services for their employees that went very well. As we were talking she kept asking me more or less off topic questions about myself and zeroed in on the fnancial literacy program. 

At the end of it, she wanted to know whether I would be available to do seminars for her staff on different money topics.  She asked me about my rates, and told me that no matter how wonderful the written material might be, that it couldn't possibly be as funny as I was in person and that getting people to laugh helped them remember things better. 

She also (I told her a Tucker story) wanted to know if I could bring Tucker to add HIS perspective.  o_0  I told her that might not be the best idea unless her people are prepared to eat a lot of mac and cheese.

AND by boss announced that we will close our office the week of Christmas.  SO I will get a break for sure.

Jamaica Me Crazy ...

I keep hearing this song.  Not terribly often, but often enough.  It's a man's voice, doing a cover of "Angel of the Morning" and it has a kind of reggae sound to it.  I can't find that song.  Anybody know what I'm talking about? 

Yesterday the boys and I had a pretty busy day.  I took them to Walmart and they did some shopping while I got my hair done.  It's GREAT that they are old enough to be allowed to do things like that while I wait.  Don't get me wrong, I made them check in with me every five minutes and they had to carry my cell phone so I could call them if I panicked.  (yes, I have been known to do that) But over all it was a successful trip. 

They had this conversation with their dad in which they both said to him, "Mom REALLY needs chocolate that she can put in her emergency hiding place in her closet that we don't know anything about ..."

r i g h t

We made a stop by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory later in the afternoon and I picked up several weeks worth of truffles.  (okay, i got six truffles)  here you see champagne, kahlua, and jamaica me crazy rum ... yum.  just having chocolate in the house makes me feel better, more secure. 

After we got home, my little angels had other things to do.  Elf kinds of things to do.  I was instructed to put up my feet and relax, in a completely different room.  So I did.  We are having a lot of fun this year.  Can you tell?

I am very mindful that this season is difficult for many people.  It's a stressful time of year and by the time you've made a few circles around the sun, you've brushed at least once or twice against a tragic moment. 

In Colorado Springs last week, we had a police officer shot to death during a routine traffic stop.  (I work in a building that's on "Mark Dabling Blvd" - named after another policeman killed in the line of duty 24 years ago.  That's how long Colorado Springs made it without losing an officer, but this year, we've lost two.  And it hurts.

The boys and I had a long talk yesterday about forgiveness and about reacting to tragedy.  Tucker listened, asked questions, and offered his opinion about the proper place of forgiveness.  Then he said, "That's all well and good, but I know one thing.  If anybody ever hurt me, you would never forgive them."

Well, yeah.

My grandmother died at Christmas time five years ago.  We all still miss her and the thing that haunts me about her passing is the look on my mother's face when she said, "I'm not anyone's little girl anymore."

This is a beautiful season, but also a season of great loneliness and sadness for many.  I hope you are not alone at this time of year.  I hope that you know that there is someone in the world who's thinking of you and hoping good things for you. 

I hope you know that no matter what your life has been like over the past year, you are a beautiful, precious child worthy of love and joy.  Of all the gifts you may or may not receive this year, I hope the one you hold and keep close will be that knowledge of how wonderful a miracle your life is. 

That's Not Obssessive, That's Nuts ...

Okay, I'm aware that some people think I'm a little odd.  That's okay.  Sometimes I'm the people that think that.  But this week there has been a certain discussion that needs moderating.  I like to snack on nuts.  So I get this big jar of mixed nuts, keep it on my desk, and then I have a "nut of the day" thing going.

on Monday it's pecans, because if I have to come to work, I should at least have something sweet to look forward to, right?

on Tuesday it's almonds, because the South Beach guy says to snack on almonds and at least one day a week it should be something healthy, right?

on Wednesday it's Brazil nuts because that's the peak of the week, and it deserves a big nut, right?

on Thursday it's peanuts.

on Friday it's cashews, because they are my favorite so I save them for last. 

Filberts don't have a day of their own because they never put enough filberts in the can to justify giving them a day.

Now I ask you, is that obssessive?