The Dreaded Christmas Letter
Hello, BBM Readers! I am delighted to be writing my first blog entry ever while BBM recovers. I have to be honest and tell you that I think this whole "ACL" thing is just a ploy by BBM to get me to start blogging. She’s been harrassing me suggesting to me to write for awhile now. Because she knows I will help her in any way I can, she conveniently "tore her ACL" and needed "surgery." Then, she begged me to help fill the blog void while she was gone. Good one, BBM! You finally got your way! Seriously, though, I’m excited to be writing here. Be gentle with me, dear reader; it is, after all, my first time.
The Dreaded Christmas Letter
by Tkddaughter
It is that time of year when you finally are excited to go to the mailbox. In between the thousands of credit card offers, magazines and bills, you actually get fun mail. You know the kind with cute stamps and little snowmen on the envelopes. It is the time of year where you can reconnect with friends you haven’t seen in years and years. But along with that fun mail comes much controversy…da da DA!!!!! THE DREADED CHRISTMAS LETTER!
You know how it goes…Little Susie started preschool this year and she is already working on quantum phsyics. Johnny Jr. is the starting quarterback for his peewee football team and we hear the Steelers are looking to sign him. Our dog, Snickers, just landed his 10th doggie commercial! Blah blah blah. By the time Christmas finally gets here, you feel incompetent, unworthy, and simple. I’ve already felt the stress of it myself. It’s annoying. At times it’s painful. And you know what? I’m glad they sent the letter.
I’m glad they sent the letter because what I dislike even more than the dreaded Christmas letter is the beautiful Christmas card showing no signs of a human’s touch. Or one that only bears the inscription, "Merry Christmas from the Smiths." I haven’t seen you in 17 years and the best you can come up with is, "Merry Christmas from the Smiths???" Are you kidding me?! I want to hear the growing your family has done during this past year. I want to know a little bit of what you do each day and how you’ve changed. Who is this person you’ve become? I can’t get that from a photo card printed out for you.
So while so many people dread the family Christmas letter, I say do it. Send it out. Tell your Christmas card list what you are up to, what the last year has shown you, and how you’ve grown. Send less cards if you have to, but write a little hello to each person. And a little advice: be honest. Don’t exaggerate to make your family sound like the perfect family. Tell it like it is because let’s face it…we’re all in the trenches here and it’s nice to know we are not alone.
That being said…well, I didn’t send a Christmas letter this year, but I did hand-make all 75 of our Christmas cards. While I didn’t write about our past year, I did put my own personal touch on it. But I bet there are still a few people out there who got my card and thought, "Gee, that’s nice, but what have they been up to this past year?"
Elf Yourself
I wasn’t going to post today or for the next few days, but then I found this. Season’s Greetings from the BBM family to you and all of yours.
If you’re in a Bah Humbug type of mood, you might enjoy this one. (Funny face courtesy of Big I and too much sun at the beach.)
The Case for Shopping More Often
Today I went shopping again. Yes, I believe I can currently be declared "legally insane" in a court of law. I bought Big I these shoes:
I bought Lil C an entire outfit for $9 including socks. My Mom bought both of the girls non-slip slippers so they don’t wipe out on my very slippery wood floors and steps. She also bought Lil C a ton of bows for her hair. Right now she’s wearing all nine of them in her hair at the same time. One is a Christmas bow with little bells on it, so I guess we’ll always know where she is when she’s wearing that one.
My Mom also bought the girls dress coats that are too cute; and she bought me an awesome sweater and cami that I’ve been drooling over since the Ann Taylor Loft mailer arrived at my house. I do have to wait until Christmas though, but it’s only a month away.
I got home from shopping with Big I and my Mom to find that Mr. BBM had set up both of our Christmas trees. He also put the lights on the one that doesn’t have lights and got out all the greens for the mantles.
I think I should go shopping more often.
Things I’m Thankful for. . .
In no particular order. . .
- The guy who does my hair didn’t move to South Carolina.
- My Dad recovered from his craniotomy and is doing great.
- My grandmother is 90 years old, still living at her own home, and healthy.
- The BBM Review seems to really be taking off.
- I have an awesome dojo "family."
- I have great friends in real life ("chex," Kim, Kim (not a duplicate-I have three Kim friends), Rachael, Shep, Shelley, Stacey, Stacey, ikigai, etc.)
- I have great online friends (Adam, John, Mat, Miss Chris, Frotoe, Scott, Deryck, Sizzle, the always controversial Steve, Nathan. . . Man, there are too many to list.)
- I have a very helpful family.
- I only have to use one crutch.
- I have a husband who cooks, cleans and does laundry without ruining my clothing. He also takes really good pictures which will spare me from visiting The Picture People (see 11 & 12).
- Having a conservative doctor.
- Having an attentive and kind physical therapist.
- I live in a country where I’m able to speak up.
- Big I has a nurturing teacher this year.
- The people who hold the door open for me when I’m hobbling around.
- My massage therapist because I don’t think my neck ever would have gone back to normal without her.
- My chiropractor for his help and for recommending my massage therapist.
- Little Julia is finished with therapy and doing o.k.
- Being able to train with some of the most amazing martial artists at my dojo and at our training camps.
- Dark Chocolate because it gets me through whiny two-year old days.
- My fantasy football teams are kicking some serious booty these days. WOOT!
- Adrian Peterson-oh yeah!
- Good training partners at the dojo.
- Diet Decaf Icy Tea
- That I was published this year and actually paid for it! WOOT again!
- Neighbors with big dogs.
- Having inlaws that don’t drive me nuts
for the most part. 😉 - When I came home a few weeks ago and my front door was wide open (and had been for three hours), there weren’t any robbers/killers/squirrels in my house.
- Mr. BBM having a great job so I’m able to stay at home with my girls.
- The motorcycle lady, because she got me through what might have been a rough day.
- Our troops, who deserve our endless support and thanks. . . THANK YOU!
- The National DO NOT CALL list.
- All of my AWESOME readers and commenters who can single-handedly make my day with your comments and emails. I don’t take any of you for granted; and I thank you!
- All of you crazy lurkers who keep coming back for more despite not leaving comments. (I get to imagine that you’re Noah Wiley or Patrick Dempsey.) 😉
- All of the online publications who like my blog enough to publish me.
- My DVR.
- Project Runway
And now I’m just getting ridiculous, so on that note Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it, and to those who don’t, Happy Thursday!
Christmas List
Filed under: ACL Hell, Holiday Fun, Mental Strain for Mama
It’s my blog so I can say "Christmas" not "Holiday." Any complaints can be emailed directly to yourself, because I don’t care to read them so there.
Yes, I’m a little cranky today. Not that I really needed to state that. We are less than a week away from Thanksgiving and I am still on crutches. Know how sick you are of hearing about it? That’s how sick I am of using them. (If you’re a new reader and want to know why I’m on crutches, start here.)
In addition to Lil C’s crutch injury the other day, I almost killed myself while going up the stairs to Big I’s teacher conference yesterday. The steps in the school have this little lip on the end of them and as I moved up one by one, I kept getting caught, which made me lose my balance and teeter backwards a bit. Thankfully I made it up without injury, but coming down was a nerve-wracking experience as well. Luckily, the conference itself was nothing short of wonderful and glowing so that was at least good.
After the conference I went to PT and sadly, had to report to my PT that after my workout on Wednesday, I felt very sore. It wasn’t my muscles either; it was the knee joint itself. Because of my report, he cut out one stretch, and cut my bike time in half. I hate set-backs. He said that much of PT is trial and error so that’s the way it works. He also said that I can cut down to twice a week since he knows I’m doing my exercises at home, and primarily because my co-pay is going to be the end of us.
When I got home, Big I wanted me to write out her Christmas list. I thought it would be a good idea to write a list for all of those that I buy for, 20 total, two additions from last year. My choices as far as Christmas shopping goes are as follows: crutch it around the mall and die of exhaustion and irritation (at all the rude you-know-whats that don’t hold doors for injured people), allow Mr. BBM or Big I to push me around in a wheel chair (NO WAY! What? I have pride issues.), do all of my shopping from the comfort of my own couch via the internet, or make a detailed list including item numbers, prices and descriptions and send Mr. BBM on what will still be a wild goose hunt.
I also wrote a list for myself since I rarely ever do this and after Christmas, I’m always like "Oh man, why didn’t I ask for. . .?" Right now, my list is markedly longer than anyone else’s list and includes the following items: gift cards or clothes from Ann Taylor loft or Ann Taylor, zip-up hoodie and matching pants from ATL or Eddie Bauer (I need cute PT clothes; I’m running out), that military book by Eric Haney (the one that show "The Unit" is based on), Shureido sai (sob, sob, sob-I could at least hold them and look at them), a brand new intact ACL, gift card for Victoria’s Secret, a new Vera Bradley purse, stationary for letter writing, kanji paint set from craft store, thin socks (blacks and blues), a pale yellow Pitt sweatshirt, ginger salad dressing (the kind they serve at hibachi restaurants). . .
You get the idea. I went a little nuts; and I admit that I’m sort of unrealistic about some things.
In contrast, here is Big I’s list: Wii Princess game, Pirates of the Caribbean III movie, unicorn webkin, Littlest Pet Shop Teeniest Tiniest Pet Shop (dear God, help me!), Littlest Pet Shop Electronic diary, and a computer (more our idea than hers), and sparring gear.
Lil C’s list? Puzzles, Ratatouille movie, Brio train accessories, oh and chocolate.
I think I need to remind myself that Christmas is for kids. . .
***If you’d like some ideas for Christmas yourself, make sure you check out the reviews on The BBM Review. From books, to martial arts products, to video games, there are plenty of reviews there and there are many to come in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Our review schedule is getting booked up quickly. If you have a product or website that you’d like The BBM Reviewers to review, please contact me as soon as possible.
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