Paragraphs may be beyond me at this point. I had hoped to be finished with wrapping and mailing and baking by this week. My plan was to sit on the couch, admiring my tree and my son and my perfect manicure. My reality is that Little Cuter's room is still covered in wrapping paraphernalia, G'ma's caregivers have yet to be rewarded for their kindnesses, and my nails are in a sorry state of disrepair. There are more brownies to be baked and the Costco wreath needs to be replaced and I was at the post office once again today. I'm not unhappy... except for my nails.
*****
The stamp machines have been removed from the lobby of my post office. The line to interact with a sullen human (I am not stereotyping, I am speaking from personal experience) behind the counter was 20+ people long and the line for the APC was barely moving. I was third in line for 15 minutes. The little girl behind me wasn't all that fascinating and I'd forgotten my book in the car. I was getting dangerously close to boredom when two 20-somethings came in and went through every emotion imaginable as they perused the lines, the clock, their stack of white envelopes and the absence of a stamp machine.
The mom behind me and I sent them to the grocery store down the block where, by the time they drove and parked and went in and bought and affixed the stamps they would still be finished before they'd have reached the front of either line extant in the place that exists to enable the use of the postal system. I'd have gone on a snarky tear, but I'm enjoying the season too much for that.
*****
I think I've accumulated all the foodstuffs necessary to feed the family over the holiday. Standing in front of the Yukon Gold potatoes Little Cuter requires for mashing, I was obsessing over the difference between a jewel yam and a garnet yam. The former was a prettier shape, but the latter was more expensive. My expression was cause for concern to a young woman also standing amidst the starches and she smiled and surprised us both by saying that she had just learned the difference and that each has its own virtues but the garnet has more carotene. I was stunned. I am usually the one proferring arcane bits of information to total strangers; it was quite wonderful to be on the receiving end for once.
*****
And finally, thanks to Ronni Bennett and Saul Friedman over at Time Goes By for this:
Ah, Christmas. We wreck our nails on wrappings and long to sit still, take it in. This holiday makes willing martyrs of mothers and daughters everywhere.
ReplyDeleteHow did the major American holidays become the province of women and isn't it great to have company in the production?
Happy Christmas to all of you at The Burrow! Rest ye merry.
Garnet, definitely. Who would deny their loved ones additional carotene?
The holiday fell into my purview as "homemaker", I think. I make the home, I keep the fires burning, I am the institutional memory. I love it. I just wish my nails looked better :)
ReplyDeleteI bought one of each kind... will bake them both and decide for myself. The challenge will then be to remember which I like... another thing that's in my purview.
We shall rest merrily, thank you :) The best to you and yours, NANCE.
a/b