Grab some coffee, this will take a while

My son just finished 6 performances of a Christmas Carole at the regional theater. He did so well. My husband worked on the sets. It was really wonderful to watch them work together. There was an older gentleman who played Christmas Present. He has worked in the the theater for over 60 years and is a college professor. He made the following comment about my son ;
"You know, I've seen a large number of children come through this theater, but your son has something special. There isn't any ego there, just a real love for the theater. He is always early and always ready to lend a hand. He has a positive attitude to the cast and crew and works hard to make everyone else look good. There is something special about him. Keep encouraging him. He is bound for huge success."

Okay, as his mom I knew that, but it is nice to hear some one else say it.

Although this morning he begged me to be able to sleep in.

My daughter is glad it is all over. She is tired of sitting around while he rehearses. We spent 4 hours looking for dress shoes for her. She takes a 4 1/2 - 5 and to find something stylish and comfortable under $20 is impossible. We settled on some boots.

I went to an exchange student conference this weekend. It was okay. Learned some things, and could have passed on others. One of very cool things they talked about was how non profits who adapt to transitions and change thrive. Amen I say! I met some really great people who shared some wonderful stories.

I start a temp job this week $12 per hour working as a phone store greater. Not too bad. 40 hours per week until Dec 31. I signed up with two temp agencies and they are very helpful.

I also started to decorate for Christmas...

Growing up, I lived with my father’s parents. For many years, they had a silver Aluminum Christmas tree.

Grandpa would decorate it with glass globes of all different colors. In the corner of the room would sit a flood light. Projecting out form the floodlight was a disk would spin. This dick made of blue red yellow and green cellophane projected colors across the sliver slivers of metal. Gleaming, shining, reflecting, and way too hot to be safe

I remember getting my wrist burned on that stupid bulb.

There was never a lot under our tree
We always had food, even if it was just potatoes and eggs (you didn’t need meet during advent anyway, or so I was told) But presents were more practical.

For example, we always got clothing. Christmas was an especially good time for socks and underwear I recall.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Santa always came to our house. Yep. He always left one of those 6 foot stocking made of red or green plastic mesh. Do you remember those? Oh I sure do! It had the candy and the ball and paddle and the little maze with the silver ball… oooo Santa!!!!

There were never big gifts. I remember the biggest gift I ever got was the Barbie beauty shop. It was a really cool gift, but I didn’t have ANY dolls! So I would just walk my fingers through the shop. I loved the escalator!!!

The top of our tree had a unique glass star. None like I have ever seen. It was like a ball with a indentation and a large point at the top. I don’t think I ever really thought of it as a star. It was just that goofy thing on top of the aluminum tree. It was there every year.

When I was about 10, my grandparents got an artificial green Christmas tree. It was a pain to put up. The stems were painted different color by length so you knew what slot to put them in on the stand. The only problem was that after the first year the paint wore off and it was hard too hard to tell what color was what.

Since 1988, I have always had a live tree. It was what I wanted. It was a symbol that I had moved on. I was done with the silver and the plastic and the poverty that they remind me of.

When my husband and I married (This Dec. 28 will be 5 yrs married-- 10 years together as a couple) I searched high and low for a silver Christmas tree. You see, I wanted it up at the reception. I wanted to remember my grandma, and my grandpa and my childhood and where I came from and where I have come to.

I found one online for $35.

We wrote our names on red ornaments and hung them as party favors for our wedding.

Ever since then, the silver tree has its own place in our foyer. It would great our guest, just as it did on our wedding day.

Last year, we put it in the basement, near Swiss Son’s room. He informed us that back home, he always had a tree in his room. So we tried to oblige.

And so this is Christmas…

We are struggling this year, as many other families are too.

I am afraid this year, for my kids, will be like so many of mind in the past—with few presents under the tree.

I hate to disappoint my kids. And I am afraid I already have.

You see, there year, there will be no live tree.
No going to Am-vets with our two cans of food and picking out the perfect pine for $65+
This year we can’t afforded it.
I wish we could, but we can’t.
And this year, there will be very few gifts.
No California or Disney trip from Santa
No TV set or computer or game system
No big ticket items, for any of us

There will be food
And there will be new cloths
And Christmas music
And It’s a Wonderful Life on video
And Hardrock and Coco and Joe
And Susie Snowflake
And there will be sweets—my home made caramel of course!!!

And this Christmas, like many from my childhood
There will be a sliver tree
With a revolving colored wheel.
If you look closely, you can see the ornament from our wedding -- it is always placed on the tree.