Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Hi! I Just Realized That Christmas is Only a Week Away

I got started on wrapping gifts yesterday. While being a fan of the beautifully wrapped package, I have no facility for that. My packages always look like they have been wrapped by a 5th grader, no matter what I do. (Hat, please to be adjusting expectations accordingly). I'm sure the fact that I don't much enjoy wrapping presents has something to do with it. Much as I appreciate seeing a box covered in glossy paper and festooned with ribbons and bows, it always seems a little silly. I'll spend 5 minutes wrapping something, only to have someone rip, shred and tear through it in 10 seconds. I am tempted, every year, to employ a technique Dame Judi resorted to: she sewed up six burlap bags in Christmas colors and filled them with unwrapped gifts. We'd sit on the floor, bags tightly closed in our eager little fists, taking turns digging in, without looking mind you, to pull out our gifts. I so totally understand why she started doing that. I just have to wrap gifts for 2 people and a handful of friends; but it's still just a glorified chore.

The chore part is the actual wrapping. The glory of it, which is what keeps me going year after year, is imagining the delight of the recipients. (Well, The Spouse not so much. He is one of those people who opens a gift and says, "Oh, that's nice. Thank you". Very hard to get a hearty "OH! WOW! FANTASTIC!" from him. It's not that he's not grateful but after 16 years I still don't think I've ever given him anything that made him plotz with amazement. And let's face it, isn't thrilling and amazing someone kinda the point? I digress). I know The Child is going to love her "big" present. I'm pretty sure The Hat will love her "big" present. And there are all sorts of little treats and surprises as well that will elicit some "yippees" and giggles. No one is getting underwear, which is always a good thing. So I enjoyed wrapping up presents and thinking about the joy and laughter of Christmas morning, because that's the point; not the fact that I can't seem to line up the ends of the paper (it looks like rows of Christmas ribbon) to match or make perfectly sharp corners.



I've lost about 10 pounds this week. 10 pounds of worry and concern, that is. My mind has been too much occupied with financial considerations and all the high school hooha. But I'm on the other side now. We signed papers last night to refinance the house; we didn't have a sub-prime loan or anything but with an interest-only equity line and some credit cards and me not working until the new year, it was all getting a little fraught. Especially when every time I turned on NPR there was another story about how bad things are going in the economy. I wanted to consolidate everything into something safe, fixed and low interest and now we have, freeing some nice handfuls of cash month to month in the process. So that's a load off. Mundane, but a load off.

As for high school, The Child had a pleasant enough time at Second Choice High yesterday but she came away sure that First Choice is indeed first choice. I asked if she'd be OK with SCH in the event that she didn't get into FCH and she said, "Oh, yeah", which was a relief (one doesn't want to hate one's back-up). Never mind that I now feel fairly certain that she'll be accepted to FCH. The email from our priest saying he'd sent "glowing letters of recommendation" on her behalf helped. (He's kind of a big deal in the archdiocese. Just saying). The fact that all of you have your fingers crossed helped. Seeing her enthusiasm and determination, that really helped.

She was so cute when I picked her up yesterday. She said, "I've made a list!" and pulled out some note paper (note paper, btw, emblazoned with a logo for FCH) on which she'd noted pros and cons of both schools, complete with scoring system. It ranged from the sensible (smaller classes at FCH) to the silly (awesome pizza bagels at FCH) but it was fundamentally thoughtful. It went to what she values, what she's looking for and I found myself more than a little amazed.

I mean, here we've been in charge of her decisions for nearly 14 years and we still fundamentally are for the next 4 but she's now arrived at that place in her life where she truly is thinking for herself, weighing her options, judging what she values and wants. It was a blessed thing to see because that is, after all, the point of parenting. Our job is to teach her to think for herself so that we don't have to hold her hand all her life. First Choice has been on Papa's and my radar for years but now she owns that, for all her own reasons. Realizing that yesterday was right up there with watching her take her first faltering steps. She really is growing up.

And now I must away. I've gotta cram for my emissions test, finish wrapping presents and bake the annual eggnog cakes for the faculty and staff. I've decided to gift everyone this year, not just The Child's teachers, because I'm feeling just a little varklempt about this being our last Christmas at St. G and I want to show my appreciation to all the hard-working angels at the school. I can't give them all a million dollars, so brandied eggnog fluffiness will have to do.








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24 Comments:

Blogger Anne opined...

Hey! Can I have a pack of FCH stationery for Christmas?

December 19, 2007 10:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

I remember when socks and underwear were the worst gifts ever. Now, I don't really think I would mind so much.

December 19, 2007 10:07 AM  
Blogger Br. Jonathan opined...

It seems just like yesterday I was ooo-ing and aah-ing over your eggnog cakes.

Oh. And two friends got Sortilege this year. Such a great present to have on hand. I think I should just go ahead and order a case.

December 19, 2007 10:54 AM  
Blogger booda baby opined...

I am pretty sure it won't be the same thing if I make an eggnog cake for myself. And I mean for myself because I pretend to be happy to share, but I'm being a dirty liar because if it has frosting on it or is - frankly - good at all, I will eat it and I don't care if they weren't faster with their forks.

I realize it's pointless to drop eggnog cake hints when you're struggling with gift wrapping. That Dame Judi had a damned good idea, and I'd do that too if burlap bags looked slightly more festive under the tree. Maybe if you fling handfuls of glitter around. Glitter helps any and every occasion.

December 19, 2007 11:06 AM  
Blogger rosemary opined...

I left a comment yesterday but maybe blogger is being cluckty clucked. I always got underwear and jammies....and a dollie. Lorraine, no matter where the daughter goes, she will be a star. You and her dad are supportive, love her to pieces and have armed her with all that she will need to be successful. Again, have you written your essay? As for package wraping? If the paper stays on and the tape is in the right place, it is fine for me. I agree...why bows and extra stuff? I even make tags out of left over paper with pinking shears.....no one notices.

December 19, 2007 11:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

I am a huge fan of wrapping paper. It's true. I have always been the designated gift wrapper in the house. But I gotta say, Dame Judi is bloody brilliant with that burlap bit. Man! That is seriously brilliant.

December 19, 2007 12:17 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

I'll mention it to Santa, Anne. You like green and gold, I assume?

If they were really groovy socks and really French underwear, I probably wouldn't mind either, JP.

Lucky friends, Buck. We still have most of the 2nd bottle you brought. Yay!

They were very festive bags, Booda. In pretty Christmas colors and tied with bows. Kinda looked like Santa had just said, "Screw it, I'm ready for some eggnog cake" and tossed his pack(s) under the tree. A very charming effect. Really.

You're my kinda woman, Rosie.

She's truly brilliant, Hat. And you are welcome to enjoy the paper on the packages, I'm just warning you not to be expecting some kind of Martha Stewart extravaganza in that department 'cause it so ain't happenin'!

December 19, 2007 12:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

The joke about my gift-wrapping abilities was, I used so much tape to keep the seams and ends neat that you couldn't get into the $%^&*#@ package!

Eggnog cake sounds pretty yummy. I made eggnog French toast a couple of years ago, the morning after a house concert--it went over very well, so I can understand an eggnoggy cake doing the same!

And it sounds like you and the husband have done a great job with The Child. Fingers still crossed!

December 19, 2007 12:49 PM  
Blogger more cowbell opined...

My Christmas tradition is a wrapping frenzy until 4am on Christmas Eve, with plenty rum-rich eggnog. Congrats congrats contrats on the refi. What a load off that has to be. I'm glad you're feeling positive about FCH - that will be another load off, I'm sure!

December 19, 2007 1:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

GREEN AND GOLD!?! she exclaims in disgust. Those are Slytherin's colors.

December 19, 2007 5:24 PM  
Blogger Speck opined...

My mother-in-law devised a wrapping shortcut similar to the burlap bags. There were seven kids in the family and they were poor as churchmice and couldn't afford wrapping paper.

They would get cardboard boxes from behind the market, all about the same size of course, and each kid would wrap their own box (so that it still opened) with brown paper grocery sacks. They would decorate the boxes with crayons and put their names on them. The empty boxes would be under the tree for two weeks before Christmas. Santa filled the boxes on Christmas Eve during Midnight Mass and tied them up with string.

All the kids are now grown with families of their own and they can all well afford beautiful wrapping paper. But any gift under Mammaw Speck's tree is wrapped in a brown paper grocery sack with magic marker decorations because it just wouldn't be Christmas otherwise.

December 19, 2007 6:29 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Yes, I know, Anne, but remember...The Sorting Hat was going to put Harry in Slytherin...they aren't all bad. Severus Snape? Hello!!!!

Plus, green and gold were my high school colors so I'm down with it. It's also a really nice shade of green. Sets off my eyes.

Speck, I love Mawmaw Speck...not just ingenious but obviously so full of magic and warmth that the tradition continues even though it doesn't really need to. I love that.

December 19, 2007 6:37 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Oh golly, my bad. Hi Cowbell and Syd!!!! (waves frantically and searches quickly for wine cork) I sure appreciate your good wishes, my dears. Vino?

December 19, 2007 6:38 PM  
Blogger Sling opined...

As long as there are glass bubble lights on the tree,the wrapping is only the distance between the gift,and the receiver..Whole lotta good wrapping ideas in comments tonight!

December 19, 2007 7:19 PM  
Blogger Doralong opined...

Gift bags babe, gift bags.

And egg-nog cake- oh yeah!!!

Good on the Child by the way ;0

December 19, 2007 7:39 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

OOH! Bubble lights! Pretty!

D, I am now getting a vision of a tree beneath which there are nothing but gift bags...then they morph into burlap bags in rich hues of green and red...see? That frakkin' Dame Judi, man...

December 19, 2007 8:19 PM  
Blogger Willym opined...

Boy are we on the same wave length here - I love the beautifully decorated gifts (my friend Naomi is brillant at that sort of thing and you always want to leave her gifts unopened so as not to damange the wrapping)but frankly I suck at it. The paper is always cut the wrong size, ends come lose under the tree, the sticky things don't etc. Back when I did gifts with my brother, sister-in-law,nephew and niece and their family I did the box thing. Made it up like a gingerbread house and put the gifts in with tags on them and shipped it off to them. It was a big hit with the little ones.

Love the Dame Judi and Mother Speck stories. There are two people who, despite hard times, made sure that magic was kept in the giving and a lesson was learned that obviously stayed with their families. Lovely, simple lovely.

December 19, 2007 8:22 PM  
Blogger Willym opined...

And I think I might just try the egg nog cake - if I can find a commercial cake mix here ... and some egg nog!

December 19, 2007 8:23 PM  
Blogger Kimberly Ann opined...

Mmmm, eggnog. That is some delish stuff.
Oh, and I just bought hubby his underwear for Christmas. Oh well, it's hip to be square, I guess.

December 19, 2007 10:57 PM  
Blogger Dana opined...

I'm not a good wrapper, either.

Or a good rapper, which is the typo that I initially had typed.

December 20, 2007 3:26 AM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Willym, of course you could make your own cake from scratch and just add the eggnog and brandy. But trust, when the list of cakes required is over 20, boxes of yellow mix purchased on sale for 88 cents a piece is pretty awesome.

Kimberly Ann, if that's the case, you're the hippest square I know.

Yo yo yo, Dana. (That's the extent of my rapping abilitiers).

December 20, 2007 7:12 AM  
Blogger Traveling Matt opined...

i don't wrap gifts. i'm really good at it but i don't do it. i'll usually buy a festive bag. they're reusable and everything

December 20, 2007 9:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

Oh. Um. < Potter Pedantry >: Slytherin's colors are green and silver; Gryffindor's are scarlet and gold.

< /Potter Pedantry >

December 20, 2007 11:11 AM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Monica, yeah, gift bags are strong with this crowd.

Syd, duly noted. In fact, The Child corrected me on this point just this morning.

(hangs head in shame)

December 20, 2007 12:02 PM  

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