The Best Christmas Ever - Take #39

I think I probably write this every year but here it is again. If you read this blog you may also be a Facebook friend, follow me on Twitter or read my other blog, Styled by KDG, or hang out with me in real life and thus you are likely to have a front row seat to my unabashed holiday joy.

I will ---

1. Mix up Christianity, commercialism, Greek history (hey, where did you think St. Nicholas came from?!), and family traditions in one giant smeary, gooey, lovable glob.

2. Perpetuate the modern day Santa Claus. I will do so without guile. Without concern that I am lying to La C. I will wrap her Santa gifts in special wrapping paper. I will share the story of St. Nicholas as we bake cookies for Santa and Rudolph.

3. Help La C pick out assorted of her toys and books and wrap them up with bows and tinsel to gift anew to kids who may want them more.

4. Put out the Elf on the Shelf. Because one of my new fave holiday traditions is the game of the Love of My Life trying to outwit the very eagle-eyed La C by hiding the Elf in a new spot each day. After which, the newly found Elf is grilled by La C about his past night's travels.

5. Listen to Christmas music until I get a headache.

6. Light the Advent wreath and open each little door on the chocolate filled Advent calendar. For the past Christmases with La C we opened our Advent calendar with her to mark the days toward the universal day of Christmas. But now that she is old enough we will incorporate the lighting of the Advent candles to mark the progression of time to the birth of Christ.

7. Go to church and remember why I need to go more often.

8. Over-compensate in my gift giving. I am a little obssessed with creating an assortment of the "perfect" gifts for folks. I keep adding on...just in case.

9. Completely fail at baking holiday cookies for gifts. I try this every year. We still have gallons of Karo syrup from 2008 when I tried to make sugared jellies for holiday gift bags. I was convinced it was the Karo syrup. It wasn't.

10. Completely lose it at some point before midnight on Christmas Day that this is not the absolutely most picture perfect holiday for La C that it should be.

I completely own the inevitability of #10. I will find fault with everything from the too full schedule, to the spot on her fancy dress, to forgetting some must have stocking stuffer for Alaska that was left in DC, to the neighbor with his fully decorated Christmas tree berating me for my commercial symbols of Christmas rather than the true Christian meaning.

...and then I will forgive myself. After all, Christ has forgiven us for moving his birthday from the fall to December to align with the Winter Solstice festivals. And that is my point. We will all make of this holiday what we will. We will mix and mingle National Lampoon and Luke 2:7. We will give and take. We will celebrate and show mercy.

And we will believe in magic.

Yes we will.

It's called faith.

I have it, how 'bout you?

Sick Day

Being sick as an adult is not quite like it used to be.

Ranting & Raving

I would guess that the morning routine in our house is pretty similar to many families. 

I hit the shower while Love of My Life and La C trudge downstairs for breakfast accompanied by Disney music. (I actually downloaded the Tarzan soundtrack to my exercise playlist!). LOML dutifully makes our coffee and feeds the cat who hates him. La C settles in to her chew in a bowl with milk and a bib and a spoon. Basically Cinnamon Life cereal but it has been "chew" since she could first talk. And it is never just "chew". It is "chew in a bowl with milk and a bib and a spoon". And I love that.

Meanwhile, I am upstairs hollering at NPR.  

You see, NPR and I have many deep and meaningful conversations.  We have engaged in numerous debates. And sometimes, we disagree. Loudly.

Every morning I listen to NPR while I get dressed. And I am not afraid to give them a piece of my mind. I stick out my tongue. Stop mid-mascara and google a fact to rebut. I applaud. And sometimes I threaten to write a letter telling them what I really think.  I love it, I really do! 

LOML puts up with this every day, complacently shaving and eyeing me in the mirror while I rant and wave my toothbrush around in the air.

The other morning as I yelled "Ha! You have got to be kidding me!" I turned around to see two little eyes peering at me from under the covers of our bed. 

Uh-oh. 

I went over to La C and said "Boo, you know Mommy is not mad or upset, right? I am just talking to the radio."

"Okay.", she said. "If you are not mad, what is wrong?"

"Nothing. Mommy's just passionate!".

Beats telling her I'm a raving lunatic. 

My Instagram Daylight Savings Weekend

My Instagram Weekend

A Sunday Walk

Last Sunday we took a family walk through the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. The Monastery is three blocks from our house and is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon exploring, laughing, running, snuggling and general family bonding.

The Color of Shame

In the months leading up to La C's birth, after we found out she was a girl, I told the Love of My Life (LOML) that I planned to talk to La C about Planned Parenthood.

Explain what a resource it was to her, to her friends who may need it, to women she did not know in cities and towns around the country.

"Yep." said the LOML.

By now we all know that Susan G. Komen Foundation pulled their funding support from Planned Parenthood.

A good deal of the response to this decision is calling foul. That the Komen Foundation is merely bending to the will of the pro-life movement.

Every fiber in my being is tingling with the assumption that this was indeed a dastardly move.

The official statement from the Komen Foundation is that they cannot support organizations under federal investigation. There were no political overtones to the decision.

Fine.

Then the Komen Foundation could suspend their funding pending the results of the federal investigation.

The fact that they pulled out completely does not help the Komen Foundation's story.

Pro-life or pro-choice, we are women whose access to health resources are usually the last to be addressed. We all deserve what support we can get.

After all on the Komen Foundation's own website they state ---

As the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we're working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures.

I imagine those women in the 19 Planned Parenthood locations around the country now no longer supported by the Komen Foundation, are wondering what exactly is the Komen Foundation's definintion of "all."

* Photo by Joseph Allen Photography