Peace On Earth
Day after Christmas and all of this fucking cleaning to do.
First off, you have the utter chaos of the day, wrapping paper and tiny, plastic toys to gash and slice the tender soles of your feet open during midnight trips to the bathroom, trips to the fridge for pickles, etc. Screaming children all wound up on candy appropriated from the toe of their stockings, screaming parents "For God's sake, if I have to tell you ONE MORE TIME, I'll take away that farm set, horse, etc. and give it to a child who deserves it!" Believe me, I've said the latter so many times since yesterday morning, it's become almost chant-like.
Now let's add to it, shall we? How about 5 minutes after the last present is unwrapped, let's take away all of the electricity? For almost 12 hours? Not just in OUR house but in every house through out the valley? Doesn't that sound like a day straight from a POW / Chinese torture movie? OHMYFUCKINGGOD. I wanted to run away, I wanted to cower under the safety of my down comforter, I wanted to MAIM my sweet little boy. The wind was blowing at gale / hurricane force, carrying with it the hint of snow and freezing temperatures so that the little boy did not want to be outside in it for more than 10 minutes at a time and all during my brief 10 minutes without him, he probably walked in and out the door 7 times.
I came to the conclusion that the kid is much too reliant on TV. Not so much the watching of it, but for background noise and the occasional commercial (he's like me and can do anything during the actual program, but the commercial jingles will always tempt us with their siren's call ). Apparently, I have failed in my mission as a parent to teach him that silence is golden. And really, I suppose, 4 year olds really can't stand silence. I know mine can't.
Mom started the tri-tip roast at 7 a.m. so it had been in the roaster for an hour or so when the power went out. It was shortly moved to the barbecue, where it slow roasted all day and oh my goodness, it was succulent. So moist and tender and just falling apart. I am tempted to buy me a gas grill, just so I may roast meat that way. We ate roast beef on dinner rolls, by candle light and I can honestly say, it was one of the best Christmas dinners, ever. Just a magical, mystic sort of dinner, none of the usual fuss and hurry so that we can get all of those fucking dishes washed. Just kind of a filling snack sort of dinner and I was enraptured. It was such a change from the usual hustle and bustle, and so much more...intimate, I think. In candle light, you slow down (mostly in order to prevent a 4 year old from trying to swallow a chunk of beef that is as big as his little boy fat hand) and everything is dark and still. I guess it comes from that same spot in me that loves the midnight hours and the vulnerability of conversations held then. I felt closer to and more thankful for those that I love than I have in a while. I was impressed.
And then we left, after the melting Dairy Queen cake, which I could have most easily just bathed in, as messy and decadent as it was. Vanilla ice cream on top and chocolate ice cream on the lower slice, with crumbly chocolate crispies on top of chocolate cream as the filling between layers. Delectable.
So, we left to return to our quickly freezing homes, where the food that I just bought on Friday was melting in my freezer. And we sat in the light cast by candles, which somehow lost their magic once we got home. Nephew and the little cowboy were playing farm and pissing and moaning about the lack of SpongeBob, Jimmy Neutron, and Danny Phantom and the glow from dinner quickly melted away. I had laundry, dishes, stuff to do. So I sat in the dark and finished the newest Diana Gabaldon book with Ty's little Bob the Builder flashlight. The power came back on around 7:30 - 7:45 p.m. and by then, I was too ensconced within the trials (literally! Oh Merce, you'll LOVE this book) of Jamie and Claire and flipping pages like mad, to get to the end to see if they made it (I won't tell you, you'll have to read it yourself) to get up off of my lazy ass to do anything. Although I did scrub the toilet and cleaned up the bathroom a bit.
And when the power had been on a bit, I went in and soaked in the tub for awhile, listening to the boys chatter and giggle over America's Funniest Home Videos and everything, for once, felt right in my world.
I hope that you all had a nice Christmas.
BzBiff, next year, if you are alone, you are so coming to spend it with us, after all, we're pretty much family, what with Maggie proclaiming so long ago that her and Ty WOULD be married, much to his horror, and Jen becoming like my own this last month.
JR, would it be that you and I could retire to a spa for a couple of days or so, we would tear that place up what with our combined need of peace and relaxation. We'd probably end up being properly and delicately escorted off the premises because I would definitely be smuggling a cache of peach shnapps for me and bourbon for you. Someday, when I win the lottery.
First off, you have the utter chaos of the day, wrapping paper and tiny, plastic toys to gash and slice the tender soles of your feet open during midnight trips to the bathroom, trips to the fridge for pickles, etc. Screaming children all wound up on candy appropriated from the toe of their stockings, screaming parents "For God's sake, if I have to tell you ONE MORE TIME, I'll take away that farm set, horse, etc. and give it to a child who deserves it!" Believe me, I've said the latter so many times since yesterday morning, it's become almost chant-like.
Now let's add to it, shall we? How about 5 minutes after the last present is unwrapped, let's take away all of the electricity? For almost 12 hours? Not just in OUR house but in every house through out the valley? Doesn't that sound like a day straight from a POW / Chinese torture movie? OHMYFUCKINGGOD. I wanted to run away, I wanted to cower under the safety of my down comforter, I wanted to MAIM my sweet little boy. The wind was blowing at gale / hurricane force, carrying with it the hint of snow and freezing temperatures so that the little boy did not want to be outside in it for more than 10 minutes at a time and all during my brief 10 minutes without him, he probably walked in and out the door 7 times.
I came to the conclusion that the kid is much too reliant on TV. Not so much the watching of it, but for background noise and the occasional commercial (he's like me and can do anything during the actual program, but the commercial jingles will always tempt us with their siren's call ). Apparently, I have failed in my mission as a parent to teach him that silence is golden. And really, I suppose, 4 year olds really can't stand silence. I know mine can't.
Mom started the tri-tip roast at 7 a.m. so it had been in the roaster for an hour or so when the power went out. It was shortly moved to the barbecue, where it slow roasted all day and oh my goodness, it was succulent. So moist and tender and just falling apart. I am tempted to buy me a gas grill, just so I may roast meat that way. We ate roast beef on dinner rolls, by candle light and I can honestly say, it was one of the best Christmas dinners, ever. Just a magical, mystic sort of dinner, none of the usual fuss and hurry so that we can get all of those fucking dishes washed. Just kind of a filling snack sort of dinner and I was enraptured. It was such a change from the usual hustle and bustle, and so much more...intimate, I think. In candle light, you slow down (mostly in order to prevent a 4 year old from trying to swallow a chunk of beef that is as big as his little boy fat hand) and everything is dark and still. I guess it comes from that same spot in me that loves the midnight hours and the vulnerability of conversations held then. I felt closer to and more thankful for those that I love than I have in a while. I was impressed.
And then we left, after the melting Dairy Queen cake, which I could have most easily just bathed in, as messy and decadent as it was. Vanilla ice cream on top and chocolate ice cream on the lower slice, with crumbly chocolate crispies on top of chocolate cream as the filling between layers. Delectable.
So, we left to return to our quickly freezing homes, where the food that I just bought on Friday was melting in my freezer. And we sat in the light cast by candles, which somehow lost their magic once we got home. Nephew and the little cowboy were playing farm and pissing and moaning about the lack of SpongeBob, Jimmy Neutron, and Danny Phantom and the glow from dinner quickly melted away. I had laundry, dishes, stuff to do. So I sat in the dark and finished the newest Diana Gabaldon book with Ty's little Bob the Builder flashlight. The power came back on around 7:30 - 7:45 p.m. and by then, I was too ensconced within the trials (literally! Oh Merce, you'll LOVE this book) of Jamie and Claire and flipping pages like mad, to get to the end to see if they made it (I won't tell you, you'll have to read it yourself) to get up off of my lazy ass to do anything. Although I did scrub the toilet and cleaned up the bathroom a bit.
And when the power had been on a bit, I went in and soaked in the tub for awhile, listening to the boys chatter and giggle over America's Funniest Home Videos and everything, for once, felt right in my world.
I hope that you all had a nice Christmas.
BzBiff, next year, if you are alone, you are so coming to spend it with us, after all, we're pretty much family, what with Maggie proclaiming so long ago that her and Ty WOULD be married, much to his horror, and Jen becoming like my own this last month.
JR, would it be that you and I could retire to a spa for a couple of days or so, we would tear that place up what with our combined need of peace and relaxation. We'd probably end up being properly and delicately escorted off the premises because I would definitely be smuggling a cache of peach shnapps for me and bourbon for you. Someday, when I win the lottery.
posted by Lori | 10:45 AM
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