Re: My new Beneteau will be here tonight but my wife wants me to wait to open it
- From: "Kol_Isha" <kol_isha@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 20:42:29 -0500
"madgamer" <madgamer2@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:L6lrf.646141$x96.515547@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Arlene,
> You are such a wicked lady! Sneak in and open it? Rewrap it? At last I
> know what kind of childhood you had :-) When My sister and I were little
> we never really looked for our gifts but we did find them one year. It
> was kind of like what happens when the greyhound catchs the mech. rabbit.
> It kind of took all the fun out of it at Christmas. We did not ever
> repeat this. Thanks for the Christmas email. Have a good one
>
> Larry
> Boy, does that sound familiar. Same exact thing appened with my brother
> and I. After that, I did all I could to not know. I never wanted to feel
> *that* feel again.
>
> Ed
Actually, Larry and Ed... I admit that I did it, and truthfully, it did not
take the fun out of it for me. In fact, looking back, it amazes me how, as
a child, I could get so intensely excited about the smallest things... the
anticipation of an upcoming event or gifts to open would have me dancing
around the house for days, totally unable to relax. The night before my
birthday party (held at my house, no McDonalds or catered parties for
children in those days), anticipating the arrival of my friends the next
day, my Mom would let me set the table with the party favors and candy...
put out the chairs for musical chairs and hang up the donkey poster for pin
the tail... and I'd be so excited that I couldn't sleep. And Chanukah?
Remember that there was no Christmas morning for me (although when I was
very small, my parents would put out a few gifts for us, left by "Santa",
because we couldn't understand why all the other children were getting tons
of gifts and we weren't). Chanukah, instead, would stretch for days... and
there was the anticipation of a different gift each night. My mother would
give us toy catalogues ahead of time, and I would spend days poring through
them, picking out what I wanted. And then... for days... I would dream
about that special gift. And then the agony of waiting, and the days of
literally dancing around the house with excitement. I remember one year in
the early 60's... all I wanted was a Chatty Cathy doll. I dreamed about
that doll day and night... my mouth watered thinking about it.... I kept
telling my mother, my grandmother, anybody who would listen, how badly I
wanted that doll. And then the waiting... and waiting... and finally... I
couldn't stand it anymore, I just had to know. So I snuck into my parents'
room, where all the packages were piled in a heap with our names on them...
and I went through all the ones with my name, carefully unwrapping and
rewrapping gifts until I found it. My dream doll. But still, I knew had to
wait to see her and to play with her, so that on-edge sense of anticipation
would linger a bit longer. And I would worry that maybe I had dreamed that
I saw the doll, and I would worry that maybe I wasn't going to get it after
all... and always, the "big" gift would be held until the last night of
Chanukah... so each night as I opened something else, there was that sense
of mild disappointment... until the big night came. Believe me, knowing
ahead of time didn't take away that glorious feeling when I finally opened
that package. (I still have that doll, by the way... and she still talks
when you pull her string... one of the mementos of childhood that I've never
been able to give away.)
Ah, to feel that way again... to be that excited again about such small
things. I can't even imagine. My birthday comes and I say, yippee, another
birthday (grimace). Christmas is such a non-event around here... actually,
being Jewish at Christmas time has always been a bit depressing because the
rest of the world is partying and having fun, and you know that whatever is
going on around you, it has nothing to do with you. Chanukah doesn't have
nearly the significance (it is a holiday with minimal religious
significance)... and in fact, with the kids grown and gone, the excitement
is gone as well. We might make latkes one day, we will light the candles
and say the blessings, but that is about it. My niece was visiting from
California last week and so, with all seven grandchildren in the same place
at the same time, we went to my Mom's and exchanged gifts, a week early.
And... that's it. Everything is closed. I wanted to go see a film tonight,
but most of the theatres were closing early, and the film I wanted to see
was not playing nearby at a convenient time. Instead of going out for
Chinese food (the Chinese restaurants in South Florida are often full, at
Christmas, with bored Jews) we treated ourselves to prime rib tonight. Just
the two of us. And so... it's just another quiet evening in South
Florida.... :)
New Year's will be fun, however. I volunteered to do the monthly Song Swap
at my home. The December one is traditionally held on New Year's Eve.
So... at least for that night, my home will be filled with the sounds of
music and voices and guitars. And the table will be full of all sorts of
goodies (we do a pot luck, but for the holiday event, people go way
overboard). Okay, enough Christmas eve musings...
Regards,
Arlene
.
- Follow-Ups:
- References:
- Prev by Date: Re: Help for Wade H Miller...
- Next by Date: Re: Help for Wade H Miller...
- Previous by thread: Re: My new Beneteau will be here tonight but my wife wants me to wait to open it
- Next by thread: Re: My new Beneteau will be here tonight but my wife wants me to wait to open it
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
Loading
