Is is truly only four days until Christmas? The older I get the more I'm amazed at how quickly time appears to pass. I do know time doesn't actually go faster, though to millions of children across the world this week will creep as slowly as traffic in a blizzard.
Speaking of blizzards, my sympathies to all who've suffered because of the massive snow storm that crippled the nation this last weekend. I have never flown during this part of the year (though if I ever want to see Christmas in New England and New York--a personal wish of mine--I'm going to have to brave it someday) so I can only imagine the nightmare. The worse weather I've experienced was a thunderstorm in Houston that caused our plane divert to San Antonio. We sat on the tarmac for seven hours. Lucky for us the plane was only half full, I'd brought lots of snacks and books and there were about fifteen passengers on board who were flight attendants in training! Once we got to Houston, it was a nightmare. We were on our way to Washington DC. We'd left the OC at 7 am and eventually arrived in DC at 2 am. Though we were exhausted, it was incredible flying into an Reagan International Airport with the Capitol and other buildings lit up. I'll never forget the sight. So, those of you who are still in the midst of it, take heart. You'll have exciting stories to tell someday of the Great Blizzard of 2009. You were there! (Take photos!)
We will be having an intimate Christmas this year. It will be me, Allen, my dad and my friend, Katsy Chappell (I based a character on her in my new book so you'll read about her fictional counterpart in May). Katsy's an actress and stand-up comic so I'm sure we'll have a great time. (She's been in hundreds of productions, but one of her most famous parts is playing the best friend to Jamie Lee Curtis' character in "True Lies"). And, of course, Mr. Boo will be there. I'd invite Katsy's kitty, Bingo, but not sure she and Boo would have the proper, peace-filled Christmas spirit (at least I know Boo wouldn't--he doesn't like cats, though doesn't seem to know exactly why). So I'm sending a gift home to Bingo.
Whatever you all have planned for Christmas and Hanukkah, I hope you will make some wonderful memories (don't forget to take pictures!). I'm in the process of scrapbooking my forty years of Christmas photos and have gotten them (finally!) divided by decades. What it's brought home to me is how we often take too many pictures of the same things. I wish I had photos of the first apartments Allen and I lived in, the gifts we gave each other (and those we received), the food we made (I do have a photo of desserts the one year my sister and I made 18 different kinds), even what our favorite shopping center decorations looked like (so many have been torn down). So, be creative in your photographs. Think about what you might want to see about these days twenty years from now. It truly is history you are recording.
And don't forget those one-armed photos! When I had a Christmas dinner with my friends, Beebs and Millee, we took photos of ourselves that turned out darn good! And when Allen and I went to a Bill Engvall show in Las Vegas, rather than pay $35.00 for one of their photos, we did it ourselves. It took a few times, but turned out great (I may post these later when I can find someone to show me how to do it). So, don't forget those one-armed photos! The person with the longest arm is usually the best option :)
And, for me, I'm most grateful that God was gracious and loving enough to send His Son to the world so that we might have eternal life. Hallelujah, Christ is born!
With fondness and the hope that you all have a prosperous and healthy 2010,
Earlene p.s. See, I did get all the elements of my title in this post!
