Planning Christmas: A Defense for Early

As long as I can remember, people have been expressing their contempt for my desire to plan for Christmas long before society deems it appropriate.  And at first, I honored that censure by keeping it to myself. Now that I am older, more secure in my quirks and have had a few family Christmases under my belt; I think that if you don't at least start planning to plan it out while the leaves begin to turn you're nuts.

If I had my druthers I'd be having an open planning session during the summer solstice.  The longest day heralds the coming of the longest night, days get shorter, the weather slowly starts to get colder and at the end of the this journey you are looking at Christmas.   I'm usually knee deep in camping gear, summer travelling, household projects you can only do in the summer and the beginning of a new school year.  Once September rolls around, my attention is taken with school, sports, thanksgiving (where I live it happens in October), the beginning of Halloween and birthday party prep.  Late October is generally consumed with Halloween costume preparation.  Once Halloween is over, I can feel almost a physical pressure.  So on November 1st I start my engines and damn the torpedo of neigh-sayers. 

That's not to say I don't pay homage to everything that's important to me, my culture, and my family throughout the fall.  Remembrance day is a solemn occasion where Christmas doesn't  enter the picture.  My kids birthdays fall in the late back half of the year and those involve lots of attention to detail, and Christmas doesn't enter the picture (much; when you have a December birthday there will be decorations up).  I can only imagine what day of the dead celebrations might involve. 

In the summer I begin to try and figure out what we are going to do for our Christmas card.  Last year we had ugly Christmas cat t-shirts, Santa hats and aviator glasses.  In order to get the photo taken for the card, I had to reserve the photo session in September.  This year I'm having a heck of a time trying to top that.  I've got a half baked idea that involves the mall Santa so I'm in a holding pattern.  However, I've lost out on the October stationary sale.

Last year's Christmas card

Three weeks ago, when Walmart started putting out Christmas plates, Tupperware and other table top items I snagged several adorable plates at unbeatable prices that I will fill with baked goods and use as hostess and neighbor gifts.    If I don't pick things up when I see them, they tend to not be there when I'm ready to go back.  And then I'm scrambling and paying a whole lot more for the same effect.

There is the very legitimate school of thought that a card isn't necessary, nor is baking, nor should you turn yourself inside out around presents, decorations and get-togethers.  I counter this with the thought that with enough planning none of that is a problem.  If you have an idea in June about what you want to deliver in December, it tends to happen without a lot of stress because you've given yourself the luxury of time. This planning can also help you save a lot of money.  You're on top of what you need when early and late sales roll around.   I conclude this statement with the caveat that this only works if you want to get involved with these details. Christmas doesn't need them.

I love, LOVE, participating in all things Christmas because it's so satisfyingly fun.  Christmas themes are phenomenal: love, generosity, connection, celebration; friends and family, details, beauty. I love the excitement, the surprises, the family activities, the decorations, the random acts of kindness, selflessness and support, the food, the tastes, the sounds and the MUSIC.   I love when people go all out to decorate, or put up amazing light displays, or bake phenomenal treats. I love listening to a symphony play hark the herald angels sing.   I love the effort.

I also love feeling the anticipation.  Mind you, holiday anticipation isn't only reserved for Christmas.  I get pretty jazzed about Thanksgiving,  Halloween, Valentine's day, Easter and Summer vacation too. Christmas has the most because of all it's moving parts.  

It makes no sense to me when you take the time to put up a tree, decorate your home, bake treats, create a Christmas carol play-list and participate in holiday activities to only do it for a few days.  All this effort should deserve a fair amount of time to savor , appreciate and submerge yourself in the beauty of it.  And in order to organize all this fun, marshal all this anticipation and participate in as much Christmas as I can get, I have learned to honor my instincts and start early.

People have all kinds of different motivations for participating in all things associated with Christmas but at the heart of those motivations appears to be a desire to share.  Isn't that wonderful?!  And that is why when I wake up the day after Halloween, bam, I've got Christmas on the brain.

Now if you'll excuse me,  I need to go sort Halloween candy with the kids.  It's November 1st after all...

I...Have Made Granola!

In what I thought was going to be a supreme act of efficiency I bought over two kilograms of vanilla yogurt from Costco.  My son eats a container for lunch every school day and I can save some money buying a big tub and sending him to school with a small zip lock container.

This works really well.  Unless....  Guess who doesn’t like the taste of this brand?

I made a cardinal mistake.  I bought a Costco size of something before taste testing it. What was I thinking?!  I’ll tell you what I’m thinking now:  I’m thinking I've got to consume 2.2 kg’s of yogurt before it goes bad.

My first thought was smoothies.  However, smoothies require the blender which is not stored in an easily accessible place. Which means I will get the blender once, maybe twice but I won’t make smoothies every day because I’m too lazy to grab the stool and get the blender out, clean it and put it back every day.

Let that be a lesson if you have the good fortune to be laying out a kitchen.  Store all your small appliances within easy reach.  Otherwise you wont use them as often as you think you will, but I digress.

One-off smoothies will help but I’m going to need something else.  And I’m thinking this as I’m spooning a small bowl of yogurt for a snack and wishing I had some granola to add.  I actually write “granola” down on my shopping list, head off to the store, pick up the dry cleaning, get everything on my list but granola and head home.  Only then, once I realize that I’ve forgotten the granola,  do I think “maybe I could make granola”.

When I think of granola, I think of my childhood staple Quaker Harvest Crunch.  This stuff is magical!  And when I eat it, I am instantly transported back to my six year old self.  Trying to reproduce this magical substance was out of the question and intimidating as hell.  I know; it's granola. I should get out more or at least over myself, but somethings are sacred and when you build them up in your mind they become a thing.

Where could I find a granola recipe that I could trust? Pioneer Woman, my culinary hero, makes fancy granola but I needed something basic.  So I turned to America’s Test Kitchen.  And voila!  A basic recipe with ingredients I already have.  Although they said not to use quick oats and those were the kind I had. I bravely risked it and it turned out great.

I had no idea how resistant I was to  the thought of making granola until I made it.  And then I felt like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway where he makes fire.

Only I made granola, but not just any granola, granola that tasts REALLY GOOD!
Watch out yogurt, you are destined to be my breakfast of choice until you are all gone, because I. made. GRANOLA!

Instant and Delayed Gratification

I'm an instant gratification junkie.  I love having what I want when I want it.  There is nothing more satisfying then fixing a problem, replacing something that is broken or getting what you need right away.  No waiting, no working at it, no putting the time in. Not having to wait can be giddy, thrilling, empowering: snap and it's done.  Like Samantha and her nose twitch. Instant relief.

image courtesy of gfycat.com

Alas most everything doesn't work that way.  I live in a world where delayed gratification is the norm.  Things require time to grow.  Things require time to make.  Things require time to learn.  There's lots of talk about the journey. While I have enjoyed the journey, the most exciting part is arriving. I love arriving.  Everybody out of the car, we are here!

Image courtesy of Getty images

My favourite literary characters as a kid had photographic memories, encyclopedic knowledge, special awareness, enhanced abilities if you will, that allowed them to solve mysteries, succeed in record time, try new things successfully, not have to practice.  I have to practice. 

I'm currently sanding my deck.  It's a big deck. Sanding is pretty monotonous.  Especially when you have a large area but you have to use a small tool so you don't take off too much wood. I can only do an hour at a time.  The parts I've done are now looking great.  There is an art to sanding. I'm learning how to sand.  At the 45 minute mark I always wish I could twitch my nose and have the whole thing be done. When I am finished, I will have enormous satisfaction that I accomplished this goal.  I will feel very proud that I saw this through and it looks great. So I understand the value of delayed gratification.  Building a skill or crafting something requires time, effort, practice and patience. It's a beautiful combination that yields amazing things.  (Arrival! Just saying.)

The worst combination is when you can't practice and it doesn't happen instantly.  It's a prolonged one shot sort of deal where you never arrive: marriage, raising kids, building a career, looking after a home - the goal posts are always moving.  And when the journey ends with these things, there's no arrival, it's just over. 

Let's take parenting.  You pour your very soul into the raising of another human being.  You never make the same mistake twice, more like you never make the same mistake more than 20 times, but every age, era, season and life encounter brings something new to learn from and then you finally get them gracious, and charming, and responsible, and polite and an asset to society with a decent sense of empathy and self awareness and and an inkling of accountability and they leave to go be successful, autonomous individuals. It's the biggest kick in the pants.

On a lesser scale, cooking comes to mind.  Lots of practice, lots of learning, lots of repeating, and finally you master the recipe and for 20 glorious minutes your masterpiece sits on the table to be admired.  Then it's devoured, and the accolades pour in, and your eyes roll back in your head because it tastes just that good and if you are Duff Goldman, you actually donkey kick.  And then it's gone.  I've seen an entire Thanksgiving meal for 20, which took three days to make, get demolished in 15 minutes.

Image courtesy of Glamour Magazine

As silver linings go, you do acquire a wealth of experience which makes the journey less fearful.  you gain confidence in what you are trying to achieve.  You develop a very strong ability to appreciate.  And your sense of empathy is nothing to sneeze at either.  But over is over, and over sucks.

This is where I struggle mightily with the saying "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".  I'm really too busy  weeping, pining, and grieving over the ending to ever recognize that the journey was the arrival. 

Huh...

You know what epiphanies are?  Instant gratification. ☺

Wash, Rinse, Repeat...

I struggle with repetitive tasks.  In contrast, I love a tradition.  Tradition with all it's history, pomp and circumstance is so fun;  the excitement of getting out the Christmas ornaments; using the Easter dishes; getting together with family to celebrate occasions; going back to visit the family cottage every year; these speak to my soul. The repetition of routine is another matter.  And nowhere is this more prevalent than in house keeping.

Image courtesy of Dreamtime.com 

What do you mean you are out of pants?  I just washed them last week!  How can these blinds be dusty, didn't I just wipe them down?  Why is the bathroom so gross, it feels like I cleaned it yesterday. (I did not clean it yesterday.)  It mystifies me how much dust can accumulate, not to mention grease on walls.  How do light switches get dirty?  I fold laundry again and again and again. And don't get me started on the emperor of all chores: putting things away.

One of the many...

I wish my family were the disciplined type who took something out, used it and put it away, right away.  Sadly, I don't do that and my children were not born with this skill.  It's a daily challenge. I have succeeded in creating a place for most things in our home.  And with regards to school, sports, and paper there is a system that has become somewhat of a routine. But really I can spend a good portion of my day tidying up.  And it kills me.

It's become a mission, a learning opportunity if you will, to see these tasks as privileges not persecution.  If the sun is shining and I'm feeling especially pulled together I believe this with all my heart.  I am really lucky.  I have clothes that need washing.  I have a house that needs cleaning.  I have cherished things that need to be put away.  Okay that one is a stretch.  My cherished things are usually put away.  Although I've still got some Easter decorations sitting in a neat pile not put away.

Easter pile

But largely it's the flotsam - items that need to be returned, an article that I want to keep but don't know where I should keep it so that I'll find it again, anything that needs to be sewed, broken things that need to be fixed, notes to myself, seeds that need to be planted, and what I call kid litter -  items of clothing, a baseball cap, the odd Lego brick or toy car, a DVD  - these things creep onto my counter and breed.

This is my counter on a good day

 And I have lovely machines that help me with these tasks. I have a dishwasher. I have laundry machines.  I have a vacuum cleaner. I can afford swiffers.  I even have an outdoor clothes drying rack. I live in cleaning largess. Not only that, but if I clean up with music in my ears - it becomes a work out.

I love this drying rack so much I wrote a whole blog post about it.  Click here to read it. 

Alas the sun does not shine every day and sometimes my life is far from pulled together. So when I greet the morning with a huge full body sigh of discontent because neither one of my children has clean pants, there's a lovely drawing in the dust on one of the stools, my kitchen cabinets all need to be wiped down, I can't see the peninsula counter top for the stuff that's on it; and there's a mysterious substance at the back door that I'm really hoping is mud (it isn't mud) ; I'm going to put some music in my ears and count my house cleaning blessings.

Imagine if I couldn't clean up the mud?!

Music and Mother Nature

It took a while for spring weather to arrive.  Lots of cold, heavy, rain.  I'd look out my kitchen window onto my backyard and cringe as I saw winter detritus covering early spring blooms, all shrouded in wet.  No way was I feeling motivated to get out there and clean things up.

And then life took over and who had time for gardening? I had to get kids places, housework needed to be addressed, there's always laundry; the school's hot lunch orders needed to be sorted, and were we doing movie night? What about cub scouts: is $13.65 too much for a rock climbing evening? Are we going to introduce batting practice to the tadpole team?   And taxes are due at the end of the month. But I digress...

Today I woke up to a bright sky.

This made me pay attention to my backyard. I had some serious spring flowers on my hands and they were not looking happy.  I loaded up my iPod nano with some really great "get your ass" moving music and headed out to survey my domain.

I am currently obsessed with "The Greatest Showman" soundtrack.

My favorites are "The greatest show", "A million dreams", and "This is me". Mr Pasek and Mr. Paul are brilliant, incredible, phenomenal, song writers/composers.

I was out in my garden for three hours pulling weeds, digging boarders, trimming trees, getting rid of dead greenery and dancing around, lip syncing with fervor! Sometimes I'd just burst out with the chorus, alas with headphones on no one could hear the music but me, which must have made for some interesting viewing.  It would have been awesome if I could sing.  I cannot.

What it also did, beside give me energy that no synthetic drug could touch, was enhance my senses.
I was digging in rich, dark, moist dirt.  The flowers were so vivid.  Early spring in my neck of the woods is full of multi hued grey skies which allows early spring colour to seriously shine.

I had orchestral pop music in my ear (my favourite kind), and I was witness to some serious mother nature magic.

Today was a good day.