Gifts From The Heart

If you have access to the Internet today (and, if you're reading this, you must have SOME kind of access), you're likely aware that today is known as "Cyber Monday". It's my understanding that Black Friday is when the really organized, super-saver, highly-motivated (and more than a little bit crazy) types get most, if not all, of their holiday shopping completed. Cyber Monday was mostly created by accident, when retailers realized that a large percentage of the gift-buying population actively avoided Black Friday and instead focused their gift-buying over the Internet, and tended to wait until they'd returned to work post-Thanksgiving.

While Lloyd, Janet, Frank and Beth were discussing their various Thursday feasts and sharing stories about their crazy cousins around the water cooler for an hour or so, Craig and Ellen would jump online and get five or six names crossed off their collective gift-buying lists. Now granted, retailers are also responsible for continuing the trend, providing price reductions and free shipping deals that are good for today only. If you've had an email address for more than two years, you've likely received more than a few "don't miss these deals" and "price slashing galore" notes from retailers you've shopped from ... or from partners of retailers you've shopped from.

This may be the first year that I'll actually create ... and stick to ... a physical gift list. Partially driven from an economic standpoint and partially from a "do NOT forget to send a gift to this person", it means that I'll likely feel that I've let some folks down in the gift category, since I tend to go overboard. This is not my fault. I blame my parents.

As adults, my sister and I would beg my parents to stick to a budget or a "just this number of packages" parameter and each year, the haul under the tree would get more and more absurd. They got around the "number of packages" suggestion by wrapping multiple items in a larger box. I once received seven separate items, each wrapped, because my father had them placed in a box that he'd had some Model A tires in. (Yeah, I tried to keep a smile on my face when I read the side of the box ... "wow dad - dunno what to say, yanno? I've never really received tires for a vehicle I don't own as a gift before.") My mother got around the budget suggestion by having the cats and dogs go shopping. ("I can't help it if Ginger felt she had to give you this coat from Nordstroms, hunny. And Puff saw these slippers and just couldn't stop herself.")

And I'm not joking at all about that "pets giving gifts" thing, either. It doesn't even seem strange to me anymore - to make sure that I buy a stocking for each canine member of the extended family. I even address cards that way ... in fact, the Halloween card that was sent to my parents home was addressed exclusively to Hershel, the "youngest member" of their family, and commonly referred to as "my" dog. (This is true because while I was in the process of moving, I lived with my folks and Hershel was a terrific companion for me and my constant shadow. My father believed I was trying to turn his dog against him but I just have a soft spot for "Hershey". After all, he came home on his first trip while sleeping in my lap and I even named him - sparing him the indignity of being called "Cocoa". I think he still appreciates it.)

But this year, my gift giving will be specific to direct family and a few others. I'll try to use retailers who will ship items for me, and most will do so at no cost, especially on Cyber Monday. It means that I'll have to spend extra time to think about the gifts I give, and allow time for me to write more than just "happy holidays" on cards that I send. It's eye-opening to me to realize that being on a budget means I may put more thought into what I do for the holidays.

I just got an email from an online pet store with a deal on dog toys. I wonder if they'll ship extra-large bones ...

*urp*

There was, of course, the bird. In fact, there was a bird and a half. There also was, naturally, cranberry sauce.
(Side note - while the awesome boyfriend and I tried several different "reform the can shape" ideas, we settled on the familiar "rounds" that were cut and put on platters ... ala a Tomato Salad. It was largely ignored because ... well ... there was a LOT to choose from so just keep reading.)

There was stuffing. There was ("was" or "were"? .... hmmmm) mashed potatoes.
(Another side note - I can actually picture the awesome boyfriend reading this while muttering "it wasn't just 'stuffing' - it was 'sausage, mushroom, bacon, cornbread stuffing with cranberries, apples, and toasted pecans'." I hope he'll forgive me for the generalizations in the names of the dishes.)

There was salad. There were cornbread rolls. There was soup. There was a corn casserole. There was a green bean casserole. There was sauerkraut and sausage. There were stewed tomatoes. There were sweet potatoes. There was gravy. There was cheesecake. There were apple pies.
(Plural. As in "more than one".)

There were ice creams.
(Plural. As in "more than one" and "made from scratch".)

There was chocolate trifle and there was pumpkin pie.
(There was not a pecan pie - but perhaps we'll talk about that another day.)

There was family. Multiple generations and in-laws and cousins and parents and each individual person at that table brought more to the feast by just sitting down at the table. There were photos shared and stories retold. There was laughter and thanks was given for just having the opportunity to be be seated there.

And to be included at that table? To be allowed to assist in making that memory occur? I am really and truly blessed.

I am thankful ... and I give thanks.

It's November 19th - Happy "Appreciate Your Neighbor" Day

Most times, I don't think twice about what day/date is on my calendar. For starters, I don't have a paper calendar on my wall - just an electronic one that I glance at about once a week. Secondarily, I have all the important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) pretty much memorized and November is light on those (just 2 birthdays of note) so I'm not too concerned about the date.

But holidays are different. Holidays are dictated by the calendar (and backed up by the merchants) so one can't miss a holiday. Oh sure - Arbor day maybe, but none of the big holidays - where there's a chance for a store to make a buck, I mean. However, there are four holidays that are dictated by the calendar that kinda ... bother me.

One occurs in February and is all about Love (yes, capital "L"). Another happens in November and is all about Gratitude (uh huh - capital "G"). And then we have May and June to show our appreciation for the two humans who brought us into this world. Apparently a portion of the population feels the need to identify a specific date to express themselves. And that's not to say that they don't express themselves on other dates, too but ... flowers, cards, big meals, special evenings out, cleaning out the garage, brunch ... "yep, the calendar says this is the day so here - have some candy and flowers, Mom."

It's perhaps more than a little naive of me to make this suggestion but I'm willing to be more than a little naive. What if one purchased a bunch of Thanksgiving-themed cards this week and sent them to their friends, families, neighbors in ... March or July? What if, when February rolls around, one stocked up on Valentine's Day cards and gave them to their loved one throughout the year? "Hey Sweetheart - I really appreciated you raking the leaves in the yard while I watched the first football game of the year, and I wrote how I feel about you in this card. I hope you'll be my Valentine."

For what it's worth, I found some a Mother's Day card a few years ago that just cracked me up. I purchased 8 of them - 8 of the same exact card - and I've given them to my Mom at random times. I'm gonna go slap a stamp on another one and send it off ... just because I'm thinking of her.

Because ... we shouldn't need a calendar to tell us when to think of the important people in our lives, or when to be thankful for them, either.