Look at the cows, girls! (or, my quest for a perfect holiday)

I’ve always wanted to have the time to pay attention to Christmas. You know, take notice of things, rather than experience the usual mad rush. Enjoy the preparations, as opposed to be annoyed by them. And, this year, I did. (Have the time, that is.)

On family Sunday rides, my mother was great at noticing things. She loved riding in the car, especially along highways that took us through small towns. She appreciated every sight, and it’s a joke in the family to repeat one of her oft-said observations, Look at the cows, girls, look at the cows! (There were variations of this cry: Look at the horses, look at the planes, etc. And, I’m sure, at Christmastime, ‘Look at the lights’ was in there, too.) Years later, my daughter even added the Spanish translation: Miran las vacas, chicas, miran las vacas!

Working, running a household, and tending to children (spouses, parents, and the rest), does make it difficult to enjoy the holiday season. So, did it make a difference that I had the opportunity, this year, to stop and smell the holly?

Well, let’s see…

Presents.  Plan: To thoughtfully select each person’s gift, and have all packages beautifully wrapped and ready to go well in advance of the occasion. Reality: Have you ever passed a car on the highway in which it looked like someone was actually wrapping something? That was me. In fact, I’m sure when you spotted me, I had just left the store where I purchased both gift-wrap and the actual gift. Yeah, this year was so much better since I had all this extra time (read sarcasm). I’m sure all my loved ones treasured the gift selections I pulled out of my bin from last year’s holiday markdowns. (How’d you like that spoon rest, Sis? Don’t you worry if it breaks – I’ve got a stack of ‘em!) And, this is the third year in a row that I looked at the last knit winter scarf left from the cartload of clearance “grabs” and passed on it because I couldn’t remember who already had gotten one.

So, yes, gift giving was just as disorganized and uninspiring as it ever was. Except one surprise victory! In one of those truly irrational shopping moments, I had purchased a set of plaster cats at a sort of fair (why? who knows. I was caught up in the frenzy of supporting the cottage industries of various African villages) that was a hit with the recipient. Just the description, plaster cats, should have shaken me out of my deranged state at the time. Plaster cats. (I am shaking my head here.)

Gift wrapping. Plan: Again, advance preparation would have been my hope. Reality: Nope. Still no bows. No cute little ornaments. Yes, there were a couple packages where I ran out of tape and used Audubon Society stickers to finish the job. And, yes, some packages did have the recipient’s name written on the end flap because I was too lazy to get up and replenish my supply of gift tags. So, yes, the job still looked like it had been done by someone who had lost their will to live.

Cards. Send them out early! Sit down and enjoy the ritual of writing a short, personal message on each one. That was my goal! Reality? Despite my “open schedule”, it was first come, first served. So, Mary, Karen, Kathy & Bob, et al, let me take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And, personal messages? I think I actually started just initialing the cards like clauses on a medical waiver.

Decorations. Ah, decorating the house! This is where I was really going to outdo myself. Because, women, you know this means first cleaning the house to within an inch of your life. We can live in squalor 11 months of the year but, in December, the house must be clean enough to perform surgery on the floor. (And, if we’re going to clean the house like it’s never been cleaned before, then, by God, that garage is going to get cleaned out, too! If we are going to be miserable, so is that other adult in the house!)

Most of my “big clean” was accomplished, including cleaning out my clothes closet (because that’s so important for holiday entertaining). But, as I sit here enjoying my tree on New Year’s Day, I have to confess I managed in the end - despite all my fantasies - only to hang my trusty folk art angel on the front door, put up my minimalist tree, and arrange a display of the cards that my organized, working friends sent me.

Did I pay more attention to Christmas this year than in past years? Probably not. Sorry, I have no John-Boy Walton words to inspire anyone. I can say only that this year’s holiday was no more of a fiasco than any other year.

And, I can tell you, Look at the cows girls, look at the cows! Enjoying any part of life is all about noticing the cows.
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