Merry Boxing Day. Hug your local Boxer, or something.
It is the 26th of December and here I am at the office. There are three people in the department that showed up for this fabulous Wednesday and I? Am just trying to get through the day without throwing up. It’s 11:30 am and I have succeeded so far. Cheer me along people. Root for an iron will and an even stronger stomach! (And Phenegran... because I just took the last one I had on me and it’d better work. By gum.)
So, let’s talk about something cheerful.
I was thinking of telling y’all how I met my wonderful husband, Mister, but you know... for some reason I kind of want to wait and dole that story out in bitty pieces or make a little miniseries (pronounced ‘meh-neh-zeh-reeeze’ by my mother*) out of the story. Vignettes if you will, but I think I need to wait for a more appropriate time. Like maybe our 5 year anniversary or something. Who knows.
*As in, “Oh, The Thorn Birds was my favorite meh-neh-zeh-reee of all time! Also? I love the Hallmark Channel. Have you ever seen To Dance with the White Dog? It will just make you cry, cry, cryyyy!”
Yes, Susan... very cheerful. Well done.
So, yesterday I spent the afternoon at my sister’s house with her lovely family, our lovely parents, her mother in law and Mister. We played most of the day with the Wii that Santa left their family and now I? Want one. That thing is AWESOME. I bowled, I played tennis and golf... I made a fat little Mii. And Christmas Eve we opened presents from one another. I got another pair of sport knit pants from Lands’ End (shut it... they go with my twin sets... my adult Geranimals), a gift certificate for my favorite spa place a bunch of very cool things (including the David Sedaris box set) and a great recipe book from my mother’s church.
Mister, my sister and brother in law and I got my parent’s an iPod nano, a case, a audio cable and an iTunes gift card for Christmas. Okay, wait. Seriously. It’s a cool thing. And very practical. (Hee. Hello, what’s this? A box marked Pandora’s? Let’s open it shall we?) When my sister and I went to the store to purchase the nano we were helped by a six-foot fetus that was named Gabe or something. He was all of eighteen and when we were trying to decide on the case, he was all, “But their old right? So they probably have a fanny pack already.” Oh, if that kid only knew of whom he spoke.
I think of my parents, both in their prime (at 66 and 67), both of them active with their neighborhood activities, their church functions, their boats and time on the lake... their golf. It is not unheard of for my father to play (shoot? hit?) 36 holes of golf in one afternoon. They are so full of life. They have friends that all seem so much younger than Mister and I do even now. They travel and hike and fly fish.
I think of my brother in law’s father taken from us too early. I think of all of the things I want to tell people, to show them how much I love them and appreciate their roles in my life.
I think of Mister’s sister who was rushed to the emergency room yesterday morning with her left arm numb and they still don’t know what is wrong or what happened. I think of a friend and conference attendee, DH who...
Let me back up. DH is a friend of my old boss. They would see one another at various conferences and if one said, “Hi.” The other undoubtedly would reply, “I got my hat on.” And easy laughter would fall between them.
The back story is this is that during college DH and his friends were always pulling practical jokes on one another. One evening a friend said that he was going to take his girlfriend to the movies and DH and his friends told the young gentleman, “Be sure to wear your cowboy hat and they will let you in at half price.” So the evening came and sure enough, the friend and his girlfriend showed up to the theater, “Two for [name of movie] please.” The lady at the window told him how much it would be, and the young man pointed to his head and said, “But I have my hat on.” The movie attendant said (as if to a very dimwitted or retarded frat boy), “Yes, you do.” As in, “I can see that you idiot. What does that have to do with anything?”
So DH was always a welcome guest to our conferences. His open and genuine smile was so nice to have around.
After the 4:30 candlelight service at our church on Christmas Eve I called old boss to tell him that I enjoyed it and to inquire why his men’s quartet didn’t sing. He was walking back onstage for the 6pm service and only had a moment to speak. But he did tell me that one of his group had to leave suddenly as DH was found that afternoon by his two children, girls. He was dead.
He is my age y’all.
I know. I promised cheer and mirthful merriment but come ON. I miss my grandparents, I miss my sister’s father in law, I miss DH. I miss... I just miss. I am worried about Mister’s sister. He is worried. He didn’t want to tell anyone yesterday at the Christmas festivities because he didn’t want to be the guy with the bad news. I knew that the family would want to include his sister in our prayers. He didn’t want to be killjoy. Speaking of killjoy, one of my favorite ladies of all times, Shirley, had breast cancer about 12 years ago. She is a survivor but recently found lumps in her lymph nodes and under her arm and they are doing surgery tomorrow.
Will you, those of you who believe in prayer, and those of you who believe in sending positive energy... would you please pray and send positive energy for Mister’s oldest sister Joyce and her family, DH’s family (and my old boss) during their time of grieving and for Shirley?
Let me tell you a little bit about Shirley. She is a very special lady. She has two sons that span the age gap between my sister and I like this, her oldest, my sister, her youngest then me. Shirley and her steady husband of a frillion years have a beautiful home in northern east Texas. I swear, it looks like the Great Gatsby house as I picture it would be in my mind. They are generous beyond belief and I wanted nothing more than for Shirley to adopt me when I was younger. Not to hurt my mother’s feelings or anything, but Shirley and I have always had a special bond.
She is eccentric.
And let me quantify that. She collects things. Cars, vintage clothing, swans, jewelry, furniture and she used to travel to antique shows to give seminars on vintage pieces and how to go about antiquing.
She is always turned out in her finest, her petite frame covered in traditional lace and perfectly pleated long skirts, nipped in at the waist and the wrists. Her beautiful curls are usually held into place by an ivory clasp and her head covered in a perfectly matching hat. Gloves are standard as well as her choice of footwear... immaculate and like she just stepped out of a flawlessly preserved tintype. She is a milliner’s dream.
She can tool around in her 1957 red Thunderbird with her oversized sunshades, her gloves perfect leather on the steering wheel, a scarf covering her head and she looks just so ideal. It’s almost as if she brings the best of the past with her wherever she goes. So please, as you are thinking about DH’s family and his winning and open smile, please also think of Shirley and her beauty as she goes through surgery tomorrow.
I wish I knew more to tell you about Mister’s sister. I don’t know her very well. I wish I did, but how well you know someone doesn’t diminish your thoughts and positive energy and prayers that you send her (or their) way.
Also, one last request. Please keep two friend’s of mine close to your hearts’ these next few weeks and months. Lulu is going through a big change in her life and I am sure she and her precious little girl could use a little positive energy and prayers headed her way. And Stacey, she sounds frazzled. This time of year is stressful for her and she has some peripheral bullshit that she is handling right now. Think of her and send a smile and a warm prayer her way as well.
Okay. More later... and maybe it will be a nice story.
Thank you all and Happy Holidays to you.
PS... I am thinking of each and everyone of you, even if you don’t comment (sorry, it seems to be user error is the main obstacle to get that thing to work) but I know who you guys are and I stalk and love you anyway.