It's Christmas Eve, and I'm blessed to be spending the night on the hide-a-bed at a dear friend's house. Her boys are with their Dad, instead of home this Christmas, so I'm not intruding on the whole Santa Claus thing, and I don't have to make an extra trip back to Weatherford after being here for Christmas Eve church before I go see my blood family on Christmas Day.
It's been kind of a weird Christmas season, at least for me. My current roommate is NOT a holiday sort of person, thus doesn't seem to have a tree or ornaments. My tree is still buried in my storage unit, where it will remain until I get moved into my own place & have space to store my stuff at home. He's agreed to just "ignore" my herd of wooden reindeer on the front porch, 3 of which decided to faceplant when the winds came through earlier in the week. It's been windy enough off & on since then that I decided just to let them stay face down, rather than risking them snapping & breaking on a subsequent faceplant. Other than the reindeer, and my table full of ornaments, there's been no sign that it's Christmas at our house. Next year WILL be different.
I've been a baking fool, and virtually all of my gifts this year are baked goods. I made 3 different kinds of cookies, 2 kinds of scones, and 5 loaves of bread. I take that back, I made 5 different kinds of cookies, one got trashed because they were just AWFUL, at least to my taste buds. Now, to be fair, I was sort of rushed, and may have missed a step, or not had enough sugar, or something, but they were just not cookie enough for me. I hate that I had to limit who I could include in my gift list of baked goodies, but in the end, my toaster/rotisserie/convection countertop oven will only bake so much at a time, and the 3 dozen scones my double batch makes takes 3 pans to get cooked in that sucker, whereas in a regular sized oven, it would take 1 and a half!
I've been blessed with a variety of family (blood & chosen), who celebrate in December a variety of things, Yule, Solstice, Hanukkah, and Christmas. I love and respect them and their beliefs, whatever they may be, and I'm grateful that we live in a country that offers all of us the freedom to choose how, where, and when we worship. I pray that those who cannot be with their loved ones during this joyous season are safe and that they are able to at least talk with their loved ones. I appreciate that so many are willing to give up their traditional holidays with family in order to do their jobs, whether they are sailors, soldiers, marines, airmen/women, police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses or other people who are essential to the operation of places like hospitals, that simply cannot shut down. That you are willing to serve, especially in a military or other first responder capacity speaks volumes to the sort of person you are, and I thank you for your service.
And now, a Texas Style Night Before Christmas, that I first saw over at A Southern Fairytale.
