Torch Bearer

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...?

Overstuffed? Over-tired? I am. Too much stuff and boxes and wrapping paper to recycle? Having a Tryptophan high is a good time to lay low, think about all the things I should be doing and instead fall into a warm and cozy winter’s nap.

In the 1970’s my Grammy Stern instigated the family-wide policy of giving gifts only to those persons under the age of 18. Her rationale being: Christmas is for kids; we adults have way too much stuff to deal with. My husband and I follow that with all but our own daughters and their significant others. Other than those adults it’s all about the kids. The two-and-a-half year old Granddaughter, of course, rules our heart, but I find myself holding back from over-giving even for her because I don’t want to overwhelm her or enforce the culture-wide message that buying and having stuff is our primary purpose as humans.

My younger brother Steve took our grandmother’s dictum to new heights this season, by giving gifts of “being” rather than objects. He gave certificates for events his whole family will enjoy, like: Tickets to Plays, Descanso Garden Picnic Promises, Beach Days, Movie Nights... in short, times of being together. I aspire to that. Actually, I vaguely remember giving out gift certificates like that in years past for baby sitting my brother’s kids when they were very young so the bedraggled parents could go out and “be.”

Confession: I’m a packrat. When I tried to “decorate” for the current holidays I found that there WAS NO FLAT SURFACE on which to put cute mice dressed in furry elf coats, Santas, Angels, dreidels or even flowers and candles! You know it’s time to clean out when you can’t find room for the traditional display of Christmas keepsakes, for Christ’s sake! We stopped buying a tree years ago, when the nest first became empty, so I just put select ornaments on the mantle and book cases or hang them from curtain rods. Further confession: Packratness has reached saturation level. The only appropriate decoration would be a neon sign on the roof, flashing “TILT...TILT...TILT!”

The week between December 25 and January 1 is one I look forward to all year... a time with few engagements, a time to clear the decks, chuck the old, install the new, reorganize, savor twelve empty calendar pages in my planner, close out the business books and generally prepare for the coming year. It’s a time finally to put the bag of “maybe” clothes in the car and take it to Goodwill, swoop all the tchotchkies off the book cases... or... maybe just torch the place.

Awwww... but remember when Gramps made that reindeer out of a beer can? Still pretty cute doncha think? How can I part with that?

Praise the Lord and pass the blow torch.