Since I have no clue what your actual address is, (and no, I'm not hinting that you should tell me), I will just send your Christmas & Birthday gift to Lora, so that she can pass it on to you next time she sees you. I figure that's probably the easiest way to do it. I do hope that you will like it!
Christmas is only a few days away, and if you're anything like me, (let's pretend you are, just a little), you may be feeling a little bittersweet happy mixed with sad because you miss your family members who are no longer here to celebrate with you. I still miss my grandparents very much, my grandpa died in 1980 and my grandma in 1997, but I loved them both more than anything in this world and I miss them a lot this time of year. I'm sure you feel a sadness about your mom being gone too, but the happy memories that you still have in your heart will be of some comfort, just as they are for me with my grandparents.
Winter has never really been my favorite season of the year, but growing up in Michigan--well, you really had no choice, since winter occupies 8 months out of every calendar year. My dog loves to play in the snow, she jumps at snowballs that I toss into the air, she runs after sticks that get buried, which she can't find, and she just romps about and rolls around and enjoys every snowflake she can get her paws on.
I remember one year, we had a beagle dog, he was black and white, and his name was "Animal." He was a rambunctious dog and REALLY loved the snow. One day when my youngest sister got off the school bus, (she was maybe 5 or 6), Animal ran out to greet her, but instead of just jumping on her, he grabbed hold of her coat's hood, she fell to the ground, and he proceeded to take off running---dragging her all over the yard! She was kicking and screaming, he was running in circles, and all we could do was fall all over each other laughing, trying to get the dog to stop!
I used to go cross-country skiing too, years ago, when I wasn't afraid of it. Hey, it's great exercise, and back then, I was quite a hottie, so I enjoyed doing that sort of thing much more than I do now. But during one of my excursions with a school group, we were tra-la-la-ing down the trail just fine, until suddenly we came upon a bit of a hill. Most of my school mates just happily kept going, no problems at all. However, when it was my turn, I hesitantly inched my way to the top, and began to go down...when suddenly I saw my feet above my head, and I rolled and rolled and slammed to the bottom, knocking the wind out of me! This was NOT an easy thing to do with ski's on, lemme tell ya. My whole body ached!
I got up, dusted off the snow, and swore a few times, crying a bit, I remember my tears were frozen to my face, as I removed the damned ski's from my feet and CARRIED THEM back to the lodge, walking the entire rest of the way! That was the last time I ever went skiing. I just can't do the "downhill" stuff very well. I kept saying, "Why the hell would they put a HILL on a CROSS COUNTRY TRAIL?!" So, I was never a very good athlete, but in my younger years, at least I tried.
When my sisters and I were kids, we used to make "snow furniture," to go inside our "snow house." (I was an interior designer even then)! We made couches, chairs, coffee tables, and drank hot chocolate while we sat down and pretended to have our own "igloo house." We also carved out tunnels in the high snow banks that were on either side of our driveway, thanks to the snow plows driving by every hour to keep the roads clear.
One year, a snow plow completely covered my car---I seriously couldn't find it---and when I finally DID find it, I had to call off work because it took my EIGHT FULL HOURS to shovel it out! That's when I vowed I would never live in Michigan, and decided once and for all that I hated snow with a passion. I mean, unlike most people, I know how to drive in it....just "turn into the skid." A very easy rule, really, but one that not many people know about.
And I loved doing "donuts" in the parking lots, slipping and sliding, going in a 360 degree turn, laughing my head off...(again, in my younger years). But, I detest shoveling and snow-blowing, I absolutely LOATHE frozen nose hairs----and don't tell me YOU haven't experienced THAT, with your big schnoz---I know you have! There's no way you couldn't have! Oh, and that horrible WIND, that's the worst part of winter...that freezing slicing cold stab of ice across the back of your neck....the icy slush in your shoes...the glasses on your face all steamed up from the heat of your body in the cold air...well, at least, that's what happens to ME because I wear glasses.
Yeah, winter is definitely NOT my favorite time of year. But at least here in Pittsburgh, this year is NOTHING like last year. We got massacred with snow last year, it was so deep, you couldn't even open your door to your house to get OUT. Trees were falling over everywhere from the heaviness of all the snow on their branches, snapping them in half. It was up to our THIGHS, you could barely walk in it. For Pittsburgh, that is highly unusual. For Michigan, that is pretty much what you get EVERY year. When I lived in DC, if it snows a half inch, with just a slight DUSTING on the ground, everything shut down completely---I used to joke and say "Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden don't need weapons of mass destruction, they just need a SNOW MAKING MACHINE to dump a ton on DC, walk in on snow shoes, and take over the whole damned country."
Ah well, these are just some of my meanderings about winter and snow, and Christmas. I spend time with Pete's 89 year old mom every day, as you well know, and lately I've been looking sadly at her, thinking, "This could very well be her last Christmas." Then I picture NEXT year, and not having her here...and even though I sometimes feel overwhelmed and frustrated and annoyed with taking care of her, I just really have a hard time imagining life without her. Ya know?
Well, that's all for now. I hope you will enjoy your Christmas holiday with your family and friends! And I hope you will like the gift I am sending...
Rebecca and her snow-loving dog, Sassy
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