The Boxing of the Bobbles

Hmm, I think I spelt *baubles* wrong, but oh well, that's what 1 cup of coffee will do to me...need..more...coffee... Soooo, today I take down my tree. I was going to take it down yesterday, but instead got out and enjoyed a few walks in the snow.
When I was young, my family left the tree up until New Year's Day, we had a huge living room so it wasn't a big deal. I now have a small living room, and my tree is blocking the view to the tv if you are unfortunate enough to sit on the wrong end of the couch. I bought a new fake one this year, not huge, only 4 feet, and narrow at the bottom. I like it, it was just the right size for one string of lights, and just enough branches to fit my black and white Canuck *baubles*.
Call me a grinch, but once the big day is over, I am done with the Christmas spirit. I am not grouchy mind you, but really, life goes back to normal and I really don't want to see Christmas commercials on tv any more, I don't want to walk up to the grocery store and still hear Christmas carols over the loud speakers. The only song I am now waiting for is Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve!
Back to the Christmas spirit, maybe I should put that differently. Why do we wait for a full year before we have to greet people we have never met with *cheer*, why do we wait a full year to smile at others while we are out for our evening stroll. Why wait a full year to help others in need. Why not all year? Why do we feel obligated to help the food banks now, when people are going hungry in the spring, summer and fall? My granddaughter thought it was the law to only cook turkey on Thanksgiving or Christmas! I cooked one a few weeks ago just to show her the Poultry Police wouldn't come knocking on the door! Guess, what? You CAN wear red and green in the middle of July! Well, personally I wouldn't because I wear alot of black, not much into colour,,hehe,, but really, I could if I wanted to!
The last I checked, I could put "It's a Wonderful Life" into my dvd player on a rainy miserable January evening, and it won't self destruct!
I love Christmas Eve, for some reason it has a different feeling than any other night of the year, but why ?? How come I can't have that any time I want to? Although, as I mentioned, the Christmas spirit has left me, I think I will make a note to myself to let the human spirit take over until this time next year.

The Great Divide!

Mine is truly a family divided this year... four generations and none of us are together this Christmas morning! My mom and I live on the mainland, my daughter and granddaughter live on the island. Since moving back here, this will be my third Christmas 'off the rock'. My family converges at my brothers for the afternoon, and of course my daughter and granddaughter are together over there. This year, because of road conditions, my mom won't be making the trip to my brother's, so we will not see each other today. That is two out of four not together. On the island, as I mentioned in an earlier post, "T" made it home on Monday. As of Wednesday she was at her dad's (also on the rock) and it was decided by her mom and dad that she could stay there for Christmas, so mother and daughter there are also not together. That officially makes it four out of four of us not together. "T" will have a great time at her dad's, it is the first time he has wanted her for Christmas, and she has four half siblings through him, so for her, a Christmas morning with all those kids will be amazing! I am proud of my daughter because she could have said no, but she realized how much it meant and put her childs feelings first. That is the Christmas spirit! My daughter's boyfriend has a little boy that he will be picking up later in the day, so they are going to do Christmas morning tomorrow instead. It is their first Christmas together, and my daughter is cooking a turkey for the very first time, I am really excited for her. A new relationship, a new start to new Christmas traditions, and hopefully no trips to the hospital from her first turkey! Even though none of us are together, I am happy. My family is safe and sound, in good health, with their loved ones, and they have even more loved ones waiting to see them. We are together in our hearts, and right now that is good enough for me!
On a sadder note, there are still people stranded at Vancouver airport that have been there since Monday trying to fly to their family for the holidays. They interviewed one man who had been there since then, and was hoping to fly to Australia. He was possibly going last night, if the filght wasn't cancelled again! He said they would literally miss Christmas Day, as the time difference is so drastic, they would not land until Boxing Day! How wierd is that?
On that note, to everyone near and far, together or apart, have a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!

Bittersweet, and I don't mean chocolate

Today was the day,, "T" went home to her mom. I braved the roads to the ferry this morning, did the round trip (5 hours return), then it was fog and snow all the way home. Started out at 10:30am, got home just before 7pm. It was sooooo heartwarming to see mother and daughter reunited in time for Christmas, but heartwrenching to return home without her. Hence,, bittersweet. Nothing in this world makes me happier than to see my daughter and granddaughter happy, together, content. Unfortunatly for me, this means I have a huge hole in my heart that won't be filled until I see them again. It's not like they live in another country, or another planet for that matter, but,,,, that stupid ferry can cost an arm and a leg to travel on. There are rumours of a bridge, but I can't see that happening in my life time. I lived on the island for 17 years, and only came back to the mainland just over 2 years ago. I know I could move back, but at what point do you live your life for you, not your kids. You also have to hit a point where you accept your kids lives are seperate from your own and they need to move on as well. We have phones, we have Facebook, we have msn and webcams so it is not complete cut off, but ooooooooh the hugs, the "good morning Grandma" the "good night Grandma", I can't bring myself to walk into her bedroom just yet. That is when the tears will come. OMG, I sound like I have lost her forever,, lol. I just need to indulge in a little self pity, then I will be fine... and oh ya, maybe some chocolate! Maybe bittersweet stands for chocolate after all.

Be careful what you wish for

Ok, so I have been whining about snow, or lack of. My last post was of the joys of snow, and sludging through it. Yes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE walking in the snow, especially when it *squeeks* beneath my boots. But..... "T" is suppose to go home to her mom's for Christmas. Well, thanks to the latest dump of snow, we may not get there. In order to get her home, it is an hour to the ferry, then a two hour ferry ride to the island. The roads are not clear, so how I am suppose to get her to the ferry is a mystery to me. Unless I catch a ride on a snowblower, or a snowmobile, I am at a complete loss. She has assured me and her mom she is ok with holding off on Christmas, but tonight I caught her quietly crying in the bathtub. I don't know how much was bathwater and how much was tears! She wants her mom, Christmas or not, and when you promise a child (in nice weather) they are going home, a white out blizzard just doesn't cut it as an excuse to break that promise. Broken promises lead to broken hearts,, hers, her mom's, and mine. We are going to make an attempt tomorrow to get to the terminal, but I have warned her that if it is not safe, we are turning back. If ever I have wished for a Christmas miracle, now is the time. I would write a letter to Santa myself if I thought he would make a special trip on his sleigh! Wish us luck everyone!

A Good Dump (of snow that is!)

Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy! Snow has arrived! Parts of the lower mainland already had it, but my home was bypassed :( Finally it is here!!!!!!!!! I love snow, I guess because we don't get much, or very often, I really enjoy it while I can. I can understand some 'grumpy snow bunnies' out there, but I am not one of them! I only needed ONE thing from the store last night, and so, after 20 minutes of bundling up, off we trudged! Yes, I could have taken the car, but why? The roads were pretty bad actually, so taking the car would have been a risk, but who wouldn't want to walk into blizzard conditions just for the heck of it. "T" had a bit of a hard time, she was so layered up she was having a hard time moving, but every time I looked at her, all I saw was glowing red cheeks peeking out over a massive smile. I eventually realized it wasn't really a smile, just her face had frozen into that position. Either way though, I happily plodded on. Took about 20 minutes to get there ( a 2 minute drive under normal conditions), 5 minutes to find and purchace item, and 40 minutes to fight the wind home. I couldn't believe how much easier it was to walk with the wind at my back. My eyes were being pelted with snow, like someone was throwing darts at my face. Tears were streaming from them, oddly enough they didn't freeze to my cheeks. "T" was now sporting a new frozen face, a bit more of a grimace than a smile this time, but after I threatened to leave her in a snow bank and I would come back in the spring for her, she managed to speed up a bit. By now my "Winter Wonderland" feeling was turning into a"Winter What-the-hell-was-I-thinking" feeling. Our house is white, I was afraid I would walk right past it,, lol. We did arrive home, another 15 minutes of unlayering and throwing everything into the bathtub to thaw and drip. Hot chocolate was made, well, ok,, wine was also poured,, heehee, and after cleaning out the tub I had a HOT Shower. The best part? The snow is still here, and I think I forgot something at the store........

Fab contest on Fab Grandma's blog!

Over at Fab Grandma's blog (one of my favourites to read everyday!) she has a contest going on where you can win a awesomely cool gift! Check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6518503
I hope I did that right, her blog is
http://fabgrandma.blogspot.com

Pow-wow WOW!

As you may or may not know, my granddaughter is living with me. My daughter is working full time, and decided to add to that by going back to school. We decided that "T" would come here and go to school for the first half of the school year. We live in a neighborhood full of kids, the school is right around the corner, so why not, right? It has been an adventure to say the least! When my daughter was in school, I worked, so I missed school functions, field trips etc. I feel like I have been given a second chance to make that up, and I am loving it. Sadly it does cut into my computor time,, lol. "T" is half native (Coast Salish) on her dad's side, and when she is on the island her school is immersed in her culture. Over here, not so much. I was lucky to find a Pow-Wow class they were holding in the evening at her school. Last night was the Aboriginal dinner, and the kids got to dance. My throat closed up, my eyes watered up, and my heart filled up. To see her dance with her robe on, the drums, the singing, it made everything 'right'. The evening was fantastic, they have a huge dinner after the dancing, then Santa made his appearance. "T" sat on his lap, and when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she said "my family happy". How many times can I have my eyes get all misty in one evening?? Good thing I had on my water proof mascara. Then in another room, the have the Kids Christmas store. People donate things, NICE things, and the kids are given a shopping list to fill out. The put the names and ages of people they need to buy Christmas gifts for, then they go with a Santa helper, and shop. Things cost as little as 25cents, and they come out with their bags of stuff that the parents are not aloud to see. It is a great idea, because now the kids really felt like they shopped for mommy and daddy for Christmas! "T" bought for her mom, her mom's boyfriend, his son, and of course,,, ME!!!! Her bag of stuff is tucked away in her room, I am not allowed to peek, and she is wrapping them up today. I admit, I do like the homemade gifts that my daughter used to make more than anything in the world, but I am pretty stoked to see what she picked out. I think this is officially the last year that Santa will be real for "T". She is really questioning it now, and flip flops daily on it. She decided a few times that he wasn't real, then went to school and had indepth conversations with her friends, and decided to hold out hope for a little while longer. She said to me, "what can it hurt? It means an extra gift right?" Hmmm, not greedy at all eh? Now I am off to catch up on everyone elses blogs, Happy Weekend!