Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Good bye Christmas, Hello New Year
Christmas was very nice this year. Apparently, I've been far better than I'd thought this year. Santa brought a MUCH larger TV than I asked for, a DVD player AND the first season of House, which was a total surprise. I've watched all the special features already and I'm almost done with the episodes on Disc 1. House--yum, yum.
In addition to the loot, the traveling to each side of the state was OK, on balance. The "on balance" is key here. My family was overly concerned about how a large nearby metropolitan area is being destroyed by "the blacks". Yep, it's the 21st century alright....see how we've evolved? The other major pain-inflicting topic was "you know, your mother and I would be so happy if you'd have a little kid". "Umm, well, I'm not interested in having kids" "but who will take care of you when you're old?" "Having a kid doesn't guarantee that--lots of kids don't take care of their parents" "Oh YOURS would". Yeah. I just can't have that conversation too many times.
The other side of the state, however was "How are you? We're so glad you're here! Oh good, you brought the dog...she can play with the other 4 that are around (2 theirs, 2 of the neighbors')" No racial strife, no pushing for kids, just truly enjoying each other's company. Good dinner, walk afterward with all the dogs, saw other relatives. No strict schedule to keep, no "when you get a minute I need to TALK to you" in the hushed tones to let you know you've f'ed something up like on my side, no thinking up schemes to avoid topics you'd rather not address. A nice visit, in other words.
I do have to call M today...I need to know if I can sub some things on a recipe of hers, but what we'll really talk about is "did I write a Thank You note to my godmother for a fur she gave M to give to me" that she left me a message about last week. Well, the answer is "no". I wasn't comfortable lying about it and then forgot that I was going to send a bland "thanks for thinking of me" note that didn't specifically mention the fur. My godmother is a wonderful woman. She really is. I appreciate the gesture, but I don't do fur. For any reason. Yes, I eat meat because I don't think about it too much, but there's just no way for me to justify fur. Just can't. Would my godmother understand? Probably not. But M, knowing how I feel about fur, takes the offered gift anyway and expects me to just "get over it". Sorry, not buying it.
OK, I've written a decently long post, it's 11:30 am, I need to get in the shower and start my day (I love being off work). Hope you had a wonderful holiday, Gentle Reader!
In addition to the loot, the traveling to each side of the state was OK, on balance. The "on balance" is key here. My family was overly concerned about how a large nearby metropolitan area is being destroyed by "the blacks". Yep, it's the 21st century alright....see how we've evolved? The other major pain-inflicting topic was "you know, your mother and I would be so happy if you'd have a little kid". "Umm, well, I'm not interested in having kids" "but who will take care of you when you're old?" "Having a kid doesn't guarantee that--lots of kids don't take care of their parents" "Oh YOURS would". Yeah. I just can't have that conversation too many times.
The other side of the state, however was "How are you? We're so glad you're here! Oh good, you brought the dog...she can play with the other 4 that are around (2 theirs, 2 of the neighbors')" No racial strife, no pushing for kids, just truly enjoying each other's company. Good dinner, walk afterward with all the dogs, saw other relatives. No strict schedule to keep, no "when you get a minute I need to TALK to you" in the hushed tones to let you know you've f'ed something up like on my side, no thinking up schemes to avoid topics you'd rather not address. A nice visit, in other words.
I do have to call M today...I need to know if I can sub some things on a recipe of hers, but what we'll really talk about is "did I write a Thank You note to my godmother for a fur she gave M to give to me" that she left me a message about last week. Well, the answer is "no". I wasn't comfortable lying about it and then forgot that I was going to send a bland "thanks for thinking of me" note that didn't specifically mention the fur. My godmother is a wonderful woman. She really is. I appreciate the gesture, but I don't do fur. For any reason. Yes, I eat meat because I don't think about it too much, but there's just no way for me to justify fur. Just can't. Would my godmother understand? Probably not. But M, knowing how I feel about fur, takes the offered gift anyway and expects me to just "get over it". Sorry, not buying it.
OK, I've written a decently long post, it's 11:30 am, I need to get in the shower and start my day (I love being off work). Hope you had a wonderful holiday, Gentle Reader!
