Pragmatic Compendium

“Dear God, please help Mamaw understand that real freedom is about caring and sharing with your family and who you love. Please help Pappy not be sad and help him be okay that Mamaw is going away . . .

Then the sweet talking that only happens at bedtime. She is snuggled up under the covers with the stuffed animal chosen tonight, petting a cat who somehow knows she needs him right now, in a dimly lit pink room, with soft music playing. Her night light is a 2 foot Christmas angel, dressed in white, holding a candle lit by a small bulb.

“Mom?”

“Yeh, honey?”

“I love Mamaw, but is it okay if I like Pappy more?”

“Yes, sweetie. I know you love Mamaw, but you do more stuff with Pappy, so it makes sense that you like to spend time with him more. He does lots of fun things with you.”

“I know you’re supposed to love everyone in your family, and I really do, it’s just that Pappy really understands my imagination and he’s the best drawer ever! He can draw anything! He even helps me draw hard stuff.”

“I know. I love Pappy’s drawings too.”

“Even though some of my family lives in Georgia, I still love them too. They live far away and I love them, so now Mamaw will live far away and I can still love her. But some people in my family are more fun to play with than other people. Like TeenageGirlCousin is lots of fun and CollegeBoyCousins are lots of fun to play with but that doesn’t mean that I love them more, it just means I like to play with them more, right?”

“That’s exactly true. I know you love your family and that you love Mamaw too. But I understand that some people are more fun to play with. That doesn’t mean you don’t love the people you don’t play with. I know you love your Mamaw, but I also see how much fun you have with Pappy, and he really does understand your imagination. You’re right.”

Thinking. Petting the cat.

I kiss her soft, sweet smelling cheek , say goodnight and go into the office right next to her room to wait on her to fall asleep. Minutes pass.

“Mom?”

“Yeh, honey?”

“Just checking.”

“Okay. Goodnight honey. Love you.” (yes, sweetie, I’m still here)

“Love you too.”

This week’s giveaway is for the book Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

So how do you enter to win this book? Make a suggestion in a comment!
Don’t have a suggestion? Just leave any comment and you’ll be entered to win!
Don’t want this week’s book(s) but still have a suggestion? Add “no thanks” to your comment.

My request today? Suggest a name for our “new” boat!

Since I have two copies of this week’s book, I’m actually going to expand this drawing a little bit - everyone can ENTER TWICE.

If you want to make sure you get in the drawing for the book, just enter ANY comment now. I will award Simple Abundance to a random winner.

If you want to think about a boat name and leave your comment later, do that too. That way, you won’t miss the drawing if you forget to come back before Sunday night. If we actually pick YOUR suggestion, you will win both Simple Abundance AND the audio tape edition of Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self, also by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

The Details: We bought a boat on Saturday! We used to own a boat (pre-kiddos) and since the kids are older now, we think it’s time we introduced them to our love of saltwater fishing. We’ve actually wanted to buy another boat for while now, but we waited until we could afford it and we’re so glad we did. It wouldn’t be very relaxing to go out for a little stress relief on a boat that owns US, instead of the other way around.

We named our first boat “The Briar Patch.” For this boat, we’re leaning toward the name “The Briar Patch II,” but we want to consider other options first. FirstHusband says a 22 foot boat is too small to have a name, but that mindset has been overruled by the rest of the family. He also has the idea that we may even head on out on a Friday night and spend the night on the boat so we will wake up on Saturday morning and not face the hour long drive to the coast. hmmm. we’ll see. (It does have a porta potty.)

Notes:
Only the comments on THIS post will be eligible to win.
If your comment “signature” doesn’t link to any contact info:
please include your email in the comment or check back to see if you won!
The books I give away here are usually “treasures” in “very good ” to “like new” condition.
I’m trying to give away a book a week, so I can only afford to ship within the U.S. So sorry!
Check out the list of previous winners and the books they won!

I’ll close comments Sunday evening, April 13th and use a random number generator to pick a winner!

It’s Palm Sunday and find myself singing - as I do every year on this day - the song “Hosanna” from Jesus Christ Superstar. The CD recordings are much better, but here’s the youtube link to the 1973 movie clip of the song: Hosanna.  I know some people may not be comfortable with the movie, so I didn’t embed it.

I love Disney. I am a Disney freak. My dad worked at Disney World before it opened in 1971. I walked through the Haunted Mansion when there was still plastic on the cars. My dad was part of the team responsible for painting the original underwater fantasy in the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride (he brought me LOTS of “treasure!”) I once punched one of the three little pigs in the nose to see if it would bounce back like a spring (it didn’t - and I got a spanking.) I danced in a yellow gingham dress in front of Big Thunder Railroad during it’s grand opening! I walked the Candelight Procession every Christmas for 4 years. I learned to sing the alto part of the Hallelujah chorus in warehouse rehearsals behind the fire station in Magic Kingdom. I know how to sneak into Space Mountain (no. I’m not telling. That would be wrong.) I used to LOVE the Mickey Mouse Review (they moved it to Japan, I think.) I went to Grad Night and took a nap in the Hall of Presidents at 3:00 a.m.. I went to Night of Joy for years. I remember “E” tickets. I am a Disney freak.

Now WE are Disney freaks. Our family loves Disney World. We’ve gone to Disney on vacation every summer for as long as I can remember. Even though we only live 45 minutes away, we still stay at the hotels. We figure that people travel from all over the WORLD to stay there, why shouldn’t we? We don’t have travel expenses and we can bring our own car. We love the Disney experience, the Disney fun, the Disney food . . . the Disney MAGIC.

We’ve been annual pass holders since my daughter turned 3. Before that, we were able to rely on friends and family to get us into the parks for free and get us the “friends and family” discount at the hotels. Once PinkGirl turned 3, she became a paying customer and since cast members can only let in 3 people and themselves, we had to pay for her ticket. After years of imposing on said friends and family, we finally made the move to annual pass holder. All four theme parks - Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios), no block out dates. Then we upgraded to premium annual pass holders to include the two water parks - Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, and the 5 story arcade - DisneyQuest.

Every year we go to multiple Star Wars weekends at Hollywood Studios and the Christmas Candelight Procession at EPCOT.  We go to the Flower and Garden Show and the Food and Wine Festival.  We go to the parks multiple days in the year (for no special reason) . . . in addition to spending a week there in the summer. We know the tricks, the out of the way places and which bathrooms don’t have automatic flushing toilets (this was very important to PinkGirl).

PinkGirl and I are going to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT today, as a matter of fact. FirstHusband and FavoriteSon have been on a field trip to Georgia for the last three days and they will arrive back in Orlando around 4:30 p.m. and drive out to meet us for dinner somewhere “on property.” (Disney property, that is.)

EPCOT closes earlier than Magic Kingdom today, so PinkGirl and I will start there. The boys will join us for dinner (dinner at EPCOT!) and then we will probably go over to Magic Kingdom and stay till closing (11:00 p.m.) .

So, with that kind of background, you can bet I know some stuff about visiting Disney World. I should share. And I will - beginning today. PinkGirl wants to go to Crystal Palace for dinner (at Magic Kingdom). That’s a character dinner where Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet visit you at the table. If we eat there, we will call 407-WDW-DINE and arrange “priority seating” (not reservations), for one of last available times of the evening, usually around 9:00 p.m. Why so late? Because the restaurant crowd is thinning out. Big time. And when there aren’t that many people left in the restaurant, do you know what you get? Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet ALL at your table AT THE SAME TIME. You get your picture taken with ALL the guys.  Together!

peace. love. mickey.

I found this meme over at Lisa Writes and Lux Venit: The Christmas Meme and decided to give it a shot in an effort to jumpstart some Christmas spirit.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both:
Wrapping paper for kids! There’s nothing like watching a kid tear into a present.
For grownups, I save a few trees and use gift bags, some of which I get back the next year. I admit, sometimes I wrap a gift in tissue paper before putting into a gift bag so there’s a little bit of a surprise left after looking or reaching into the bag.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial. I LOVE the smell of a real tree, but I hate the kids on a nebulizer twice a day and I REALLY hate cleaning up cat vomit laced with chewed up pine needles. ewwww. Each kid has a small tree in their room. We had to get my son a new one last year and the cheapest one was 6 feet tall (skinny), so he has a full height tree in his bedroom now. I would have LOVED that when I was a kid.

3. When do you put up your tree?
The day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Take the tree down? The first week of January.
When did the tree boxes get put back in the attic? Last year . . . I cannot tell a lie . . . sometime between Valentine’s day and St. Patrick’s day. It takes three very large boxes. I may buy smaller boxes this year. Boxes I can handle all by myself. There may be 12 boxes of Christmas tree parts, but if I can lift each one into the attic by myself, that’s fine with me.

5. Do you like eggnog?
yuk. My husband makes REAL eggnog and loves it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
I can’t remember. I’ve thought about it for days and I can’t remember. Here’s the thing that came to me, time and time again. Christmas at my house, Santa brought everything. Everything was from Santa. Christmas afternoon at my house, I laid all my gifts out on my bed, so that my neighborhood friends could come see. Couldn’t see the bedspread, so much stuff!! I remember visiting my friend Cindy down the street. Santa brought her a cross necklace, a Bible and a doll. One doll. She had four brothers. Her mom didn’t work. Her dad owned a gas station. I remember asking my mom why Santa left me so much and didn’t give her hardly anything. I don’t remember the answer.

In my house, Santa leaves a few gifts, but mom and dad bring most everything. Santa is fair. Mom and dad are the source of stuff.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene?
We have two:
One is white bisque and sits on the middle of our dining table (the ONLY place the cats have learned NOT to jump on in the formal living areas).
The other is a tiny wood set I bought for my daughter to play with. She performs elaborate dramas which include everyone in the Bible Christmas story, all the Rudolph characters and all the characters from Santa Claus is coming to town. It’s quite interesting. Did you know that Rudolph gave baby Jesus a ride? This year, Hannah Montana is actually an angel.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
It’s funny. The people I find it the most difficult to buy for are the people who tell me exactly what to buy (and where to find it, how much it costs, etc). Sucks the Christmas spirit right out of me. I actually enjoy thinking about a person and finding a gift they might like. Sometimes I ask their close family ideas. I never ask them directly. Sometimes I’m wrong. But I think the real gift isn’t the thing in the wrapping paper, it’s the sentiment behind it. I’m teaching my children to be gracious gift receivers.

The same goes when people request that I tell them exactly what to buy for me (and where to find it, etc.).  I just try to pick something easy and fast.  If someone doesn’t know me well enough to pick out a thoughtful gift, I shouldn’t be on their to do Christmas list in the first place. Or at the very least I should be on a “gag gift” list.  Now that’s fun.

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Anyone who understands that buying a gift is not a functional, irritating, time sucking task. A gift is just as much for the giver as the receiver. Remember that saying, “It’s the thought that counts?” I get it.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
hmmmm. I left this empty for a few days and still can’t come up with anything. Probably because I don’t just see the item by itself. I see the giver, not just the gift.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail. With a Christmas letter in which we completely make fun of ourselves. No bragging here. We try to be as authentic as possible. Sometimes the letter goes out in January. Sometimes we send two years at a time because we wrote, but didn’t actually mail the previous year’s letter. Last year we didn’t even write a letter. Life is too busy.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
Has to be “A Christmas Story.” “You’ll shoot your eye out!” “I can’t put my arms down!” “Daddy’s gonna kill Ralphie.” “Thtuck? Thtuck? Thtuck!!!!”

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Usually I buy a few gifts all year long, but we really buy the majority of the stuff on the annual shopping day my husband and I usually take. He takes off work on a weekday, we shop together when most people are at work and we knock out a significant percentage of it that one day. We make time to have a nice lunch together, and depending on the child care situation, maybe a nice dinner too. This year, our son, is 12 and (we hope) is old enough to babysit his sister for $2 per hour. If they call us, fighting, we’ve already decided our response: “Well, okay. We’re at Best Buy, but if you really need us to come home, I guess we will . . .” heh heh heh.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Recycled? nah. I either return stuff to Walmart, sell it on ebay or give it to charity. But I’ve often given used items as gifts. Especially books! Everyone who knows me, knows I think used books are a treasure! If it doesn’t stink like cigarettes or mildew, and hasn’t been completely highlighted by someone else, bring it on!

15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas?
Our version of Toll House Cookies. I made a mistake one year and the cookies turned out wonderful! My husband dug through the trash to see if he could tell what I did wrong and - the engineer he is - he figured it out! We buy a 10 lb. bag of chocolate chips from Sam’s Club and make cookies for . . . everyone. Friends and co-workers beginning nagging the week after Thanksgiving. Last year, we had to switch to cookie bars because we just didn’t have time to scoop hundreds of balls of dough. Still great!

Oh, and Crown Royal with Diet Sprite. We only buy it in December. Soooo smooth. The buttah of whisky.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Both. A base of white programable twinkle lights and some retro looking colored LED lights. We program the twinkle lights to “dance” to the Christmas music. We tried C7s for the colored lights, but the heat they generate could roast a marshmallow. These LEDs look the same as C7s, but with no heat. (NOT cheap to buy, but easy on the electric bill.)

17. Favorite Christmas song?
One? Pick one? Not going to happen.
Christian: So many, but one of my favorites is O Come O Come Emmanuel
Kids: The 8 Polish Foods of Christmas (“What’s a kielbasa? Pretty much just meat”)
Traditional: The Christmas Song (but only by Nat King Cole).
I also like “Bleak Mid Winter” by Pierce Pettis.
All played to twinkling Christmas tree lights.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home. Always Christmas morning at home. Used to do Christmas dinner at my parents, but a few years ago, we wanted to start making our own family traditions and memories, so we stay home for dinner now too. Everyone’s invited, sometimes they come, sometimes not. We always have a wonderful time. The kids each pick out a new recipe, we let them eat off china and drink out of crystal. My daughter decorates the table. It’s really wonderful. We’re making memories, not just dinner.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Well. Yes. I think. But is it Donner or Donder? I can’t ever figure it out! I’ve heard both. I bought some Christmas coffee mugs with a reindeer on each and it reads: Donner. I have no idea. I just sing it softly and hope my daughter doesn’t call me out.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star. I don’t get the Angel thing at all. Looks uncomfortable if you ask me. Definitely rude.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Well, we actually have a tradition we call “Twelve Day” at our house. It started out as a way to give gifts that get ignored on Christmas morning, due to the overwhelming amount of stuff. We give a single gift to our kids each of the 12 days before Christmas. We gave a globe to my son one year and he and my husband sat on the couch and rolled it around, looking at the world for 20 minutes. Never would have happened on Christmas morning. Also a great way to turn a seasonal purchase into a gift - like a Christmas CD or DVD, Christmas clothes or jammies, ornaments, etc.. This way we enjoy them all Christmas season.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
People who buy the hottest items and then resell them for a huge markup. What goes around, comes around. Big greedy scrooges.

23. What is the “corniest” family tradition you do, or miss doing?

Gotta be the Mickey Wreath. Still do it. Can’t imagine Christmas without it.

24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented?
Plastic nose gays. Okay, maybe it’s just the ugliest NAME of a Christmas Decoration ever invented. The word “nose” should not be in the name of anything Christmasy.

25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees?
Homey trees. Family trees. Memory trees. Unconditional trees.

26. What does Christmas mean to you?
When I was younger? Stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

This year?
“Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great, I Am.”

and

“It’s still a mystery to me
that the hands of God could be so small
How tiny fingers reaching in the night
were the very hands that measure the sky.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Heaven’s love,
reaching down,
to save the world.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Son of God,
Servant King.
Here with us.
You’re here with us.”

This simple tradition is so easy (and inexpensive) and it makes my kids feel very special.

In our house, when a kid has a birthday, they wake up to a room which has been lovingly “T.P.’d” in colored paper streamers. The night before, after the kiddo falls asleep, my husband and I sneak in and run paper streamers all over the bedroom - from one corner to another, all over the ceiling fan, from the curtains, the bed and any protruding toy on a shelf. We stumble in the dark, say “shhhhhh” way too loudly and make confusing gestures at each other in the dark, trying to convey directions. You would not believe how loud tissue paper is when you unroll it in a quiet room! Despite all that, we’ve never had a kid wake up in the middle of the sneaky decorating and catch us!

The next morning, the kid wakes up to a maze of bright, colorful streamers. In the beginning, there would be a balloon or two as well. Not anymore. We can’t seem remember that part until we’re actually streaming the room and we will NOT drive to a 24 hour store in the middle of the night to buy balloons. We love our kids. But not enough to go out and buy balloons at midnight.

We usually leave the streamers up for a week - sometimes two. Lately, we take down all the streamers on the ceiling fan except for the ones draped over the blades. Then we can turn the fan on low and the streamers will twirl and drive the cats nuts.

Last night, putting my 6 (soon to be 7) year old daughter to bed, I said, “hmmmm. We’re going to have a hard time putting streamers in this room tonight. It’s so messy we can barely walk in here.

“Oh my goodness! I need to get out of this bed and get my hiney cleaning up this room!”

(If I knew that’s all it took to get her to clean her room without nagging, I would definitely have been T.P.ing the room more than once a year!)