The following is an excerpt with some revisions (as in names have been omitted to protect the innocent)from an e-mail I recently sent to a friend who has a great sense of humor.
"I left a note on the kitchen counter telling my husband I want a burn barrel for Christmas (and I think I may get it. I'm excited.)
We are working through some of the holiday issues. I don't celebrate Christmas within my own religion, but I do like some of the special little things that come connected to the season...(like opening the curtains and gazing at the neighbors' twinkling lights or attending a holiday musical evening at one of the local churches where friends attend...or sharing my friend's traditional plate of cookies).
We talked about this before we got married. But, after I sold the 7 ft. artificial Christmas tree that was in his (our) garage and he finally agreed it would be alright to find another home for the tree that had been the one he had given his mom when she was in a nursing home before she passed away (it's still with the designated yard sale items), he started calling me a scrooge. I gladly acquiesced to his ribbing and decorated a bit. Now we have a little table-topper tree as a centerpiece on the dining room table (my daughter had wanted that some years ago and we still have it.) And, I put up this ancient artificial tree (it must have been one of the first ones to come out in the stores) that my husband has dragged around with him in all of his moves all of his adult life. I actually like it because it's not very bushy and there is room to see the ornaments hanging. Hmmm...most of the ornaments went in the yard sale, too! What to do? Well, we still had some lights and a few ornaments, the ones that didn't sell and a couple of especially beautiful ones that I had held back, not knowing if they held any special sentimental value for my husband. In addition, I got out these crocheted potholders that are some kind of family tradition in his "clan" and hung them on the tree.
My daughter said it's the ugliest tree she has ever seen. I think it's beautiful and have been lighting it for morning prayer and meditation time. That's something I'm needing to be more regular with, so the pretty lights are an encouragement to me. (I finally found the music I like to play in the mornings that I had put in a special place where I wouldn't lose it-which, of course, I did-in all the moving about and rearranging.)
We haven't gotten very far in making plans for the holidays,..."
image from http//www.outsider-artists.net
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