Tree’s Up

Well, the Christmas decorations are starting to be spread about. My brother, with a little help from me and our mom, got the tree up and decorated. It’s sort of our most recent, standard, every-year tree. You see, over the years my brother has purchased a bunch of ornaments, so he makes sure that they all get put on the tree. Everything from a chrome zeppelin to remind us of A Christmas Story to feathered peacocks and Marilyn Monroes (admittedly, the Christmas connection with some of these is lost on me). It’s eclectically amusing, but sometimes it looks more like his tree than a family tree. On the other hand, if he wasn’t enthused about it, we’d still be putting up forty-year-old ornaments.

Tomorrow I’ll probably start decorating the outside of the house. I think we’ll be the last ones in the neighborhood, but this is really the first chance I’ll have to do it. I’m not going to go for anything too elaborate. Some icicles and globes around the eaves, and maybe a wreath on the garage. Nothing too big.

Yeah, this Christmas is one we’re just trying to work through a little bit at this point. I’m massively time-crunched, my mom is stressed-out-fatigued, and my dad is almost to a point were he can’t speak much more than gibberish. It kind of takes some of the festive out of the festivities, you know? I did try to get a couple of the girls to come over and inject a little life into the place, but this Christmas seems a little hectic for them, too, this year. I don’t want to push it.

At this point, I think all I want for the holiday is some time and a few quiet moments. I’d love to be able to just spend some time with Mary*, but Christmas time for her is just insane. Plus, after her little blow-up this past October, she hasn’t been quite as communicative as she was (not that she was writing novels or anything, but I’d at least get an e-card from time-to-time). But I’ll keep on keeping on. I’m not going to let this troupe out of my life like I did before. I learn from my mistakes, and I love them too much. So, yeah, some one-on-one time to relax would be great.

I’m hoping the New Year gets a little more settled. Once I finish this web site, I’m hoping that I don’t over-extend myself again. This past year has just been a blur, and that’s not how I like my life to be. Maybe once I settle in to a method to my airbrushing madness I’ll be better able to have a little less drama in my life this next year.

Up next, though, is Christmas. Talk about your stress. I don’t know what to get the girls. I don’t know what to get my brother. Worse, I don’t know what I’d like others to get me (other than that time thing). The clock’s a tickin’ and I don’t really see the finish line yet. Aargh!