Monday Muse 24th November 2014 Warning - tongue in cheek.... (no not really - I mean every word) Monday Muse Good morning ladies, gentlemen and those yet to make up their minds… It is that ‘time of the year’; it seems that office parties start in November now because people have so much going on in December, and everyone wants to fit everything in. People are working themselves up with plans and shopping lists, who is going to sit next to whom, who has the children in the morning and who gets them in the evening. It is all such an emotional bomb waiting to go off – and guaranteed if something can go wrong – it will. I have written about this before, but feel there needs to be a reminder that it is just one day; and we invest so much feeling, emotion and expectation for that one day. It is the day you want everything to be perfect, for everyone involved to get along and love one another. It is the day you want family, friends and ex’s to co-operate. It is a lot to expect from one day – 24 hours. Perhaps it is time to take the pressure off, and make Christmas a longer celebration, so that every day is special and it does not matter if you have the children on the 24th, and he has them on the 26th; you visit Mother on the 25th and have all the in-laws over on the 22nd. I think it would work so much better. Let’s spread the load and take the Twelve Days of Christmas to heart. One of those days being that everyone stays in their own home, and celebrates with their own family. The only driving to be done is to get to the beach for a bbq and a swim if it is not raining mind you I swim in the rain - it is way more fun. 12 Days of Christmas then incorporates Midsummer (on the 21st) which is my summer celebration (my belief system has Yule in June – far more appropriate for roast dinners and Figgy pudding) and I am sure that there are other religious holidays in that time; the thing being we can celebrate as a multi-cultural nation. All sorts of decorations can be put up, not just Santa. I do like a tree with fairy lights (no decorations though) because having lights is welcoming in the sun. Anyway it is a thought. It means office parties can be in November – November Madness; and the rule will be that all parties will be over and done with by 30th November; all Christmas cakes, chocolates and champagne will be delivered to clients and customers; and there is nothing left to do but tidy up desks ready for the 12 Days of Christmas. Not everyone will have 12 days off – it would be a choice of course; and shops would be open etc etc. But the 1st day of Christmas would be list making – deciding what gifts to give and setting budgets; the 2nd day of Christmas will be food and beverage planning; thus the 3rd day will be distributing responsibility throughout the family as to who is going to buy what. Then it is about scheduling the different gatherings depending on how big the family. Working out the children with the ex – and it will work because your ex can have the children all day, and overnight and if they fill them up with sugar they suffer the consequences instead of dropping them off to you in the afternoon tired, hyper and grumpy! The 4th day of Christmas you could have ‘in-law’ day preferably at their house, and take a break on the 5th day because you will need it after Auntie Flo’s really bad mince pies (the fruity kind) and sister-in-law’s raw fish salad. The 6th Day you might need to go out foraging and gathering to replenish supplies with an especial visit to the bottle store because tomorrow is ‘children’s day’ which means you get all the children – yours and your partner’s, and a few strays. Make sure your glass is topped up all day, and rope in a teenager who is excellent at face painting and playing games, worth every penny of the $30 you pay them. The 7th day of Christmas you take a day off to recover from children’s day and breathe a sigh of relief because your children are at the ex’s place and it is their turn to cope with squeals, high pitched laughter and checking that the food is free of allergens. Have a romantic night, go to town, a concert or the movies. The 8th day of Christmas is parent day; when you entertain your parents. This can be a half day affair, they do get tired; breakfast is always good and easy to cook or go out to a café and load them up with pancakes and bacon. Older people are just as prone to sugar highs and tantrums (I know, because if I have too much sugar I become quite a horrid child) and it is best to get them home before lunchtime after a turn around the park. Or pick them up early evening, give them roast and Yorkshire pudding, they will be dozing off by 7.30pm and the evening is all yours. The 9th day of Christmas is non-family day; the day of friends and acquaintances. Everyone doing the rounds, having beers, BBQ and lots of laughter. Be careful of friends flirting with each other who do not belong to each other, and check the bathroom and your bedroom at regular intervals to make sure nobody is taking the joy and love of Christmas too far. Also make sure you have all the presents you have been given displayed on various shelves, and yes you do have to use the Buddha shaped electric peppermill, your friend went to a lot of trouble (or the Pakuranga markets) to find you such a perfect gift. The 10th day of Christmas is clean up day; you need to do a quick whizz round with the vacumn cleaner and the mop. Scoop up the mini Vietnamese rolls a la Masterchef (your friend’s new man who made them is a foodie… really?) from the back of the sofa and out of the pot plants (nobody liked them!). Watch movies all afternoon, and let the children make a waterslide out in the back garden and get as muddy as they want. Fish and chips for supper, with a Tip Top Trumpet for afters, how kiwi can you get? The 11th day of Christmas is making sure that you have paid everyone their due attention. That nobody is left out. There may be one or two visits to make to friends who are a little further out of town (why are people moving to Hamilton – that is not a commute it is a road trip!) but then it is fun to stop at the end of the motorway and load up on Maccers for breakfast. Country friends and family always put on a good spread and if you are lucky there will be roast lamb or lamb racks on the bbq and the neighbours homemade wine. You might have to stay a bit longer before you are under the limit to drive home. The 12th day of Christmas. You make sure the fridge is loaded with cold stuff to eat – no cooking allowed; no driving allowed (unless you are doing a family trip to chill out at the beach); nobody is allowed to visit. It is just and yours. And if you are alone – oh the bliss of having a stack of books and dvds, chips, dip, crayfish and mayo with fresh bread. Nap when you want, watch Dr Who circa 1972 and ignore the phone. Yes the 12th day of Christmas is a no ipad, phone, pc day – no personal attachments allowed. Just people stuff – you know talking, reading and playing being real humans.... Blessings... Jackie
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:00:01 +0000
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