1. What does it mean to have ,the 'holiday spirit'? On a scale of 1-10 how is yours this year? (10=off the charts, 1=still looking for it)
I would say I am a 4. I am trying but since my oldest daughter passed away it is so difficult to get in the 'holiday spirit'. And her birthday is also in December. A heart-breaking month for me.
2. What's your favorite character from a (December) holiday-themed movie, book, or TV special? Tell us why.
Imogene Herdman.
Imogene is bossy, loud, and she smokes. She plays Mary in the play, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The Herdman's were unruly children who had never heard the Christmas Story nor had they every been to church. The rehearsals are completely chaos with these children.
The night of the play, the townspeople are surprised. They bring to the play, the 'real life' happenings. Imogene doesn't lay Baby Jesus in a manager, she insists on holding him. She coddles the baby as if it is her own. Tears drip from her eyes. Imogene does what mothers do; we love and coddle our newborns.
Imogene, though she is perceived as an unruly, worst child can still find the true meaning of Christmas. She transformed prejudice into understanding.
3. Do you like gingerbread? Are gingerbread houses part of your holiday tradition?
I do not care for the taste of gingerbread. When the girls were younger, gingerbread houses were a tradition. Daughter carries this tradition on with her boys.
4. Much of our vocabulary is determined by where we live or where we grew up. What say you-
sprinkles or jimmies? lightning bugs or fireflies? soda or pop? sneakers, trainers, or tennis shoes? sub, hoagie, grinder, or hero? freeway, highway, or motorway? frosting or icing? sauce or gravy?
Being from the South it is: jimmies, fireflies, pop, tennis shoes, sub, highway, icing, and gravy.
When I lived in Baltimore it was soda.
5. Share a favorite holiday memory from your childhood.
We never decorated for Christmas until after the first week of December.
Going to the mountains early in the morning with family and picking out a Christmas Tree was so fun. Dad would chop it down and somehow attached it to our vehicle. Once home, the tree was positioned directly in front of our picture window. Dad was always a pro positioning it just right so it wasn't moved a thousand times. The tree sat in a stand that contained water. Decorations were brought out and the tree decorating began. Oh, those tangled lights!!! And Lord help us if a bulb wasn't working. But Dad was to the rescue. We spent hours decorating the tree and laughing. Christmas music was always playing in the background on a huge floor stereo. We only took a break from decorating when changing the Christmas albums. When the tree was finished, we ate a light lunch. After lunch, it was time to decorate the outside! Bright lights were strung across the front of our house. Big, huge plastic candles lined our sidewalk. Then Mom would always decorate the door with some type of paper and hang a wreath on the door.
Afterwards, we all would go to a little restaurant to eat. So many people would be there and conversations were all about decorating.
Coming home, we would look at each house with the decorations brightly shining. My little neighborhood said we lit up the entire town
These were the best memories ever.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
This Thanksgiving, was the first Thanksgiving I was kinda all by myself. And I hated it!! Daughter was out of town with her in-laws, so it was just me. Early on Thanksgiving, I went to help out at church. The church I attend, fixes and delivers meals to families in need. I arrived at church by 8am and began delivering meals (300) later. Completely finished with this task by 11. I came home and had a pity party. AND asking God why? Around 4pm a neighbor called and invited me for turkey dinner. This was such a blessing to me and I am so grateful for this kind neighbor. Which got me to thinking???? Next year, I am going to invite people, who may have no place to go for Thanksgiving to my house. OR better yet, have a place where they can go for a meal and WE ALL CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING TOGETHER. Holidays are not all joyful and if I can do this small gesture, I can make peoples' Thanksgiving a little better.
Have a great rest of the week and Enjoy Life!
