Well, I guess it's time for the great Christmas recap. When asked how my Christmas went, I usually am tempted to give the sugarcoated version. Everything was wonderful and magical, and of course, it was the bestest Christmas ever.

But, sometimes I like to just tell is like it is. Especially to my beloved blog readers. The real truth is that this Christmas gets a 50%, at best. We did have some good times with our family, did a bit of entertaining, everyone has a job (good news in this economy!) and fortunately everyone has been healthy, (although Tony has been suffering from the dreaded "man-cold" this week, which of course is the worst affliction known to man).

This morning, we had a wonderful brunch with my youngest niece and her kids. That was a lot of fun and we all really enjoyed playing Wii Bowling with the kids and just goofing around with them. We had already had a great visit with our grandkids over Thanksgiving, but our Christmas with them consisted of a 5 minute phone call in between everything else they were doing. It's kind of hard to connect with little kids over the phone. We need to get Skype or something set up.

We did go to a fun party with some friends where I enjoyed my year's supply of Tom & Jerry's (my favorite drink!) ended up with the greatest White Elephant gift EVER!



I was so excited this year that we were going to have an all-cash Christmas. This year, we finally got organized and set up a Christmas savings account and made regular deposits to it all year long, so we had a nice little stash to use for our Christmas presents. However, the week before Christmas, my brakes went out to the tune of $500 and our big screen TV quit on us. I would have been perfectly happy to make do with whatever random TV we could come up with, but my darling husband had other ideas. So we ended up with an $800 expense for a new big screen TV. We'll get it paid off pretty quickly, but we ended up with as much debt as we would have had with a "normal" Christmas (sigh). My Mom always used to say that the universe can "sense" when there is extra money floating around and I wonder sometimes if that is true.

Then we ended up with a little family drama going on. Our family is not normally the dramatic type - we're Presbyterians and tend to be pretty low-key, but every once in a while, we end up with a big ol' blowout. I won't go into the details, but the upshot is that we didn't get to spend Christmas with our family this year. We literally sat home by ourselves, knowing that our whole family was on the other side of town enjoying Christmas together and that we were not welcome to join them, even though there was nothing we had specifically done "wrong" to deserve it. It's just family politics, which are the worst kind of politics, I think.

I have to say, that one really got to me. There is nothing I value more than family and especially with both sets of parents gone, the little bit of family I have left is very precious to me, so that one really hit me hard. I'm still a little sad over it, but this has been a common theme from time to time with my family. Honestly, I don't know if that makes it easier or harder to deal with. Easier maybe, because you have an idea that it might be coming, but harder because it puts just one more bit of distance between you and the people you love (and who are supposed to love you).

Then there was Christmas itself. My honey is not the best guy in town when it comes to present giving. He's not the type to buy me a power saw, or something totally ridiculous, but let's just say, he definitely falls into the minimal effort category when it comes to putting a lot of thought (or money) into presents. And it's always hard for me to hear that my friends got a new this or a wonderful that, when all I got was a sweater (on clearance sale!) and a pair of slippers or something. Usually, I just fudge a little and change the subject.

However, after the Christmas morning of '05 when I ended up literally in tears after the wrapping paper was cleared away, I thought he had gotten the message, but he managed to miss the boat again this year. My grand haul for Christmas of '09 - a watch (virtually identical to the one I've worn for 8 years), and a coat rack. Yep, that's every girl's dream, ain't it? He didn't even make sure the kids got me something nice. A coffee mug, two candles, and a DVD of a movie I didn't like - oh and a sweatshirt that was a gloomy color and didn't fit. No candy, no perfume, no card, nothing in my stocking, except what I'd bought myself and put in there, just because I'd had a sneaking suspicion. At least I didn't cry this year, although it was obvious that I was disappointed.

I mean, I wasn't expecting diamond tiaras, or a trip to Europe or something. But maybe a book, or a CD, or a $20 pair of earrings? And the weird thing is that it wasn't the money. He had free access to the Christmas account and could have spent whatever he wanted to. And I always get him nice stuff and lots of it. I spent more on just one of his gifts than he did on my whole Christmas. I guess he just doesn't think. And he did say he was sorry and treated me to a couple of the CD's I'd wanted today. But it does hurt your feelings, even after 25 years of this nonsense. You'd think I'd learn to adjust my expectations, but I'm such an optimist, I always believe this will be the year he'll get a clue....

Oh well, at least I've got 364 days to get ready for the great Christmas of 2010. Hopefully that one will be better.



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