Well my OCD has let me down again.
*Sigh*
I must be mellowing with age. :)
I have bought only two Christmas gifts and those were purely coincidence and chance and one took no effort on my part. That said, Christmas is now two weeks away.
Can you say, "Holy Crap!"??
What in the world is happening to me???
I'm the girl that gets it all done early...shopping, decorating, Christmas cards....I don't even have decoration one up.
Wesley and I went "Christmas shopping" last night. I found one little thing for someone. He found zip. We found lots for us, but we resisted...for the most part. :)
Frankly, I was more excited to get back in the car, in between stops, to read some more (out loud) of my new book "The Little Leftover Witch" ~ a classic I have been looking for over the years in used books stores, online, etc. I finally started finding them on Ebay, but they were always over $100. Last month the pictures from the book popped into my head again, and I went on Amazon.com and wham...I saw some very old, used ones ranging from $16 to well over a $100. I found a 1st Edition from 1960 for cheap, cheap, and ordered it. Yesterday, Wesley handed me the package that had been delivered to The Farm, and when I opened it...I hid my concern...the cover was not as I remembered it, but then when I opened it...there were the same pictures. :) I must have read/had a more recent version (my cover looked like the one on the link above), but this one was an old library book with a weathered yellow cover, first edition, 1960, and it was absolutely beautiful to me. As I read aloud to Wesley while he drove, I was surprised at the parts of the book that completely choked me up. Any book that can do that to you after all of these years, well it "must be a dandy" to quote Doretha. So for me, Christmas came early...I do not need anything else. I sat and looked at the pictures last night until I could no longer keep my eyes open.
So...back to the problem...Christmas is in two weeks. Two weeks!!!
Today we are going to go cut a fresh, live Christmas tree for Leon ~ a new tradition. We'll decorate while we watch White Christmas (hopefully with Shelley too) and drink hot chocolate. Wesley and I figure if all of that doesn't get us in the Christmas spirit, we need to get checked out by a doctor. :)
Uncle Odale gave me an early Christmas present yesterday too, but the hug and "I love you so much" (that came suddenly out of the blue while we were walking) were worth more than the gift. Saturday lunch/brunch with him, Granny and Dad is fast becoming a sweet tradition....though we do hope he can get his new hearing aid soon...between him and Granny hollering at each other...I am going to go deaf. :)
I have wondered all morning what the moral of The Little Leftover Witch is...and call me crazy, but I believe part of the moral is that everyone has good and bad inside of them. In the end, what comes out depends on how you treat them and who they are spending time with every day.
Hmmmm...
Who are you spending your time with....people who bring out the best in you? or the worst? Are you loving unconditionally? Are you being loved unconditionally?
Christmas is a time of laughter, thankfulness, gift giving, and love. I have loved and lost and loved again in my life. I have lost and lost and lost some in my life (for those of you who have also...you understand this sentence). I have loved.
This Christmas I am going to remember the little girl who not only didn't know love, but didn't know she could be loved. I am going to remember that there is hope of love for every child. I am going to remember that love comes in different forms, different places, and different ways...but real love is pure and true.
There is a lesson in the books that moved you as a child...I wish for you that you will find one of those old, treasured childhood books, read it anew, and let it move your heart.
Sunshine Dreams to You ~ Today and Every Day! :) Labels: Christmas, The Little Leftover Witch
