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I’ve been watching a lot of television lately – must be the winter “veggies” settling in already. And so I’m also (unfortunately) watching a lot of advertisements. Now because of my situation I’m making a concerted effort not to let the avalanche of holiday commercials turn me into an emotional wreck (like they usually do). And because of this effort I’m not “feeling” the commercials, I’m just viewing them.
And I have to admit, once you remove the sentimental business, the ads are disturbing.
Now I know the economy has been just plain awful, and I’m certainly not against stimulating it…but I watched those news videos from Black Friday and I’m pretty sure that the woman who slugged her fellow shoppers in the face to get at the two dollar waffle iron wasn’t really doing much for the gross national product.
Shoppers were mashed, squished, stomped, elbowed, stampeded, shoved, pummeled and pepper-sprayed. People camped out in sub-zero temperatures to be the very first shopper in the door at 5:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. or midnight. Some people even abandoned Thanksgiving altogether to spend their family holiday on a quest for the best bargains available.
I know it’s a cliché to remind everyone about the real “reason for the season,” but I can’t help considering that phrase and what it really, really means…and comparing it to the event that started all of this.
Mary and Joseph were poor. I mean poor. And because of Mary’s pregnancy their trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem took longer than they had anticipated. When they got there they discovered every available space in every available lodging was already taken. They found room in a stable...with livestock.
(Imagine you’re headed for your alma mater’s homecoming weekend and you have car trouble…when you get to town the only place available is a garage. Nice, eh?)
I just have trouble envisioning Joseph sneaking out to Zales, while Mary was in labor, to get her the latest celebrity-designed diamond pendant. And I’m fairly certain that Mary, in between contractions, wasn’t frantically surfing the ‘net to find the best deal on Black & Decker’s latest super-saw for her hubby. (Although I’m sure Joseph could have put that present to good use.)
And the very first bed that the Savior and Redeemer of the world slept in was not an Ethan Allen cherry-wood crib with coordinating linens by Martha Stewart, with a Fisher-Price mobile hanging over it from Toys “R” Us and a hand-painted tree mural dotted with twinkle lights on the wall behind it. It was a feed box. Full of straw.
Even thinking along those lines seems ludicrous, doesn’t it? And yet all you hear about is finding “the perfect present for her,” or “the ideal gift for Dad,” or making sure your kids have the latest X-box game. As if the not finding of these things will make Christmas somehow less meaningful.
What is meaningful about Christmas is love. Plain and simple. Pure and unadorned. We celebrate at all because a Child was born to bring salvation to a world enslaved by sin. It was the supreme gift of love. And it changed the world forever.
Perhaps if we really thought about that…stopped to remember the why and wherefore of Christmas, there would be less pushing and shoving, less crass commercialism…more comfort and joy.
More love.
I’m not suggesting that anyone slap a “Boycott Retail” bumper sticker on their car or avoid the mall as if there really were zombies hiding in the food court. But I’m suggesting we remember that it’s not what’s in the box, all wrapped up in foil and ribbon and tinsel, that matters…it’s what is in the heart of the giver. And when we remember that, then the smallest gifts of love can have the most meaning…and Christmas will become again what it once was…what it was meant to be...
I’ve told this to people for years, but apparently I really do have the attention span of a walnut. Maybe it’s an age thing…I don’t know. I am, after all, turning the BIG SIX-OH in two months. (Good grief, when the heck did that happen??? Last time I checked I was fifteen…)
In my last post I mentioned that I’d gotten hooked on Facebook and happily accepted it as a second home after the pirate messageboard thing died. I can chalk my recent declining interest up to the changes that the FB Geeks (with obviously nothing else to do) have made to the site. I don’t like it…I’ve tried to get used to it…but I’m not having as much fun there anymore.
Then I mentioned that I’d become enamored with a site called Pinterest. (Notice the Pinterest “blinkies” on the blog?? Okay, so pin me...or follow me, or something! D'you think those blinkies are there for decoration??)
Wow…I just couldn’t get enough of that site. But I’ve noticed the last couple of days that my interest in Pinterest (don’t you like the way that rolls off the tongue?) is also waning. (Maybe it’s just that I see the same old stuff all the time. I suppose that I should feel validated that the stuff I like is also the stuff that a lot of other people like…but truth be told, I'm finding myself kind of bored at seeing nothing but recycled pallet furniture, burlap wreaths and table runners, mason jar-whatevers and dozens of breathtaking, beautifully designed bedrooms and dining rooms and living rooms…well, maybe not bored but sated might be a better term.) And while I did get some really cool ideas for the house, I’m not on Pinterest as much as I was.
(I’m sure my boss would see that as a good thing.)
Hmm…I wonder if I’ve got Early-Onset Alzheimers.
That…or maybe I just need a vacation. (One of my co-workers recently (and pointedly) mentioned something called “emotional burnout” to me...whatever that is…)
However I am, indeed, planning on taking some time off this month. There are several urgent reasons to do this: 1) I will lose about sixty hours of vacation if I don’t take it before the end of the year; and 2) there are “house things” that need done. The flower beds need to be winterized. Ditto the house. The furnace/swamp cooler man is coming in a couple of weeks. And I’m seriously thinking of hiring a pest control company to do a “black widow sweep,” because I do not want to spend the winter cocooned with a colony of husband-devouring arachnids with chips on their shoulders because I’ve already dispatched several of their number.
I also need to figure out something to do with the panel of wallpaper that the cat has used as a scratching post. Do I just plaster more wallpaper over it? Will it look funny because it's newer? Do I remove all the wallpaper and paint the lower wall a darker blue? (These are the burning questions that keep me up at night.) Additionally, one full bathroom needs repainting, and the ceiling of another does, as well. Mini-blinds need cleaned (badly, I might add), and I’m thinking about (finally!) relocating my computer from the basement to the office on the top floor.
It makes me tired just thinking about it...
I would love to spend that week and a half of vacation lazing on a beach in Exuma with my girlfriends, waiting for Raul the pool boy to bring me my virgin colada…but the reality is I’ll be spending my vacation with people like Ms. Swiffer, Murphy and his Wood Soap, Mrs. Libman and Mr. Clean.
It’s funny what one can be accustomed to. It’s taken me several years to get over missing the daily contact via my pirate group’s messageboard, but I am now almost as hooked on Facebook – I don’t spend nearly the same amount of time, though. (I mean, after you’ve read your News Feed and posted a status, what’s there to do?? I’m not into Farmville or whatever the latest cyber-world-game is – and quite frankly, never understood the attraction.)
Of course, having said that, I’m sure there are going to be people that don’t understand the attraction of my newest addiction: Pinterest.
(You may have noticed the Pinterest buttons/gadgets on the blog page. Don’t, I’m begging you, go on there…really. Seriously. It’s evil. Well, not evil…but it can be very…um…time-consuming.)
Pinterest is a website where you can “pin” something you’ve seen online that you like to your "board." Could be a dress or a handbag, a cute picture of a puppy or a kitten, or some wonderful craft or photo from someone’s blog. (BTW - You are welcome to pin any of my stuff…honest. Promise I won’t sue you for copyright infringement.)
On Pinterest, I’m mostly interested in the Home+Furniture Discussion Board. They have got some killer ideas for home décor and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Which I’m dying to try…but then I wonder if I should put forth the effort…seeing as how I’m going to be selling the house (*fingers crossed*) in the not-too-distant future.
So, with that in mind, I’m posting something on my blog today that I made, actually, last year. I did them for quick and cute Christmas gifts for the ladies here in the office, some other good friends and neighbors. I confess that I didn’t come up with the original idea, I "borrowed" it (PIRATE!!), but I also admit the ones I made were...*ahem*...way cuter than the original idea. (Look, if I don’t blow my own horn, who will???)
It’s a message board made from a cookie tin. I went to the dollar store and got a bunch of cheapos (because you’d be amazed how much the good ones cost!!). Then it’s just a matter of decorating it with patterned paper, ribbon and embellishments. I did some with the magnetic clips you can pick up at Office Max or Staples…with some little decorations glued to them. I also made some with extra-large colorful buttons, with magnets glued on the back, for the board's magnets. (There are also designer magnets you can buy. Really, you’re just limited by your imagination.)
I used picture-hanging hardware on the back of the tin - the adhesive that I used to attach this was E-6000, which lasts forever. And then tied matching ribbon, from which to hang it...and ét voila!
I like the look of this one, because it’s kind of vintage, and I loved the patterned paper I used. The sheer ribbon bows were added by the friend who received the gift…and I think it makes it “pop” that much more. (Who said that perfection can’t be perfected on, eh??)
Anyway, I’ve seen several cookie tin magnet boards on Pinterest…but I’m hoping someone will “pin” this one…because...well, just because! ! LOL
