mrs-roboto's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holiday Ritual I received my mother-in-law and father-in-laws holiday present yesterday and to say it was crap is a total understatement. Picture if you will a shirt that combines the wonderful efficiency of polyester with the classy look of crushed velvet. Add to that the subtle sparkle of gold buttons and the razzmatazz of a furry collar and you have the ugliest garment known to man. Thank you TJ Maxx $8.99 special! Prepare yourself dear Sister-Out-Law as I am sure you got something similar if not identical. I understand that it's the thought that counts. I can't even imagine what MIL and FIL were thinking. Pete says the thought was "it's cheap!" I'd like to be able to tell you that what they purchased for their own son was better or more tailored to his personality. It wasn't. It's a most hideous boiled wool sweater ala Mr. Rogers (also courtesy of TJ Maxx) two sizes too big. . I sometimes wonder if it's weird that Pete and I like quiet Christmases, the kind that require minimal effort and lots of naps? My family always overdid the holidays. Think tables full of pasta with sausage and meatballs, a turkey, a roast beef, a million pounds of sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans, shrimp cocktails, caprese salad, regular salad, those wonder cookies from the Italian bakery that are harder and harder to come by these days, pies, a chocolate cake. I feel bloated just thinking about the amount of food we'd consume. I'm not saying these holidays were miserable . As a matter of fact, when I was young they were truly a blast but the last one before my grandfathers passing really ended that all for me. He was very sick that year (cancer again, major killer of the Robotos). He had forced himself to eat and then got violently ill and had to lay down in my parents master bedroom. To keep a sense of normalcy we continued on with the opening of presents but as I unwrapped gift after gift, I had tears in my eyes just knowing I would soon lose him. I remember climbing the stairs heading towards my own room on the next floor to be alone and having him call out to me. I went to him and he told me he loved me and to be good. I don't know if I said anything back. He died in early January. I haven't a clue what Pete's childhood rituals were like. With the exception of a Christmas way back in the early 80's when he got his first computer (a monstrosity weighing over a hundred pounds) I imagine they were slightly more low key. MIL and FIL were/are always in a brawl with some extended family member so I assume they consisted of just the immediate family and that some sort of red meat was involved. While out at dinner the other night, I asked Pete if he missed having Christmas dinner with his family. After doing a spit-take, he assured me that ordering Indian take-out and drinking wine was plenty fine by him in terms of celebration. This year we bought the house a gift rather than each other. The wood stove should arrive in a week. I'm looking forward to making some sort of mulled cider atop it. Christmas day will be spent painting the recently drywalled office a golden yellow and finishing up Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex. With the trip to Costa Rica just a little over a month away, we'll post a map on the wall and begin plotting our routes of exploration. Pete will highlight the Lonely Planet guidebook and I'll work through the Frommers, periodically doing a little supplemental Internet research. Perhaps if the rain lets up we'll head to the dog park. I'll spend some time missing my grandmother which I do frequently these days. She loved the holidays because she got to have everyone together. Having grown up an orphan, I think she was constantly amazed by the size of the family she now possessed. And then it will be over for another year and we'll be pleased with that. I hope everyone has they type of holiday they would most like to have, be it celebrating with a large extended family or just a small gathering of friends. Best wishes for a wonderful day. 8:55 a.m. - 2003-12-24 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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