Knee-Deep in December

Life has continued on at the pace of my last post; what with the parties and work shifts and friend outings and family duties and dishes and Christmas shopping and walking dogs and all those small things that add up when you have people over for dinner. Since we're in that limbo stage between Chrsitmas and New Years, Brett and I have spent the last two days reading and sleeping. We're spent. 

Please enjoy this picture of Mom's tea party table for the Guy Girls.

So let's see... Oh! Usually I just slap up our Christmas tree with a string of lights and a handful of silver and gold ornaments. It's just the two of us you know, but since we were the hosts of a Large Gathering, I felt I should up the decorative ante. That's where my "crafternoons" came in. I rigged up this dangling ceiling display and made the stars and odd shaped ornaments out of paper. I did this while Gilmore Girls played the background and Brett sauntered through with blueprints and tax questions. I'm not inclined to spend money on plastic crap and beebobs so I thought I'd just make ornaments out of paper. It turned out be difficult to do this without being willing to spend money on the appropriate materials. So either way, a financial investment will be required to make it look like what I imagined. For now I'm calling it "Department Store Chic."

Additionally, I had all of our party patrons text over a couple pictures of big precious moments from the last year, and I hung them on our Christmas tree. With the exception of one wedding and one baby, I was surprised to receive pictures of rather ordinary days. In my mind I would get photos of folks standing on Mt. Kilimanjaro or delivering a Ted Talk to an enraptured crowd, but no. It was mostly pictures of happy little gatherings with people and animals we love. A houseplant that blooms once every five years. A lunch out with an older brother. A weekend trip taken with old friends. I really sat and thought about this, and concluded that life is what you make it. 
At the same moment in time I had been bemoaning the fact that people are forced to waste their talents in pursuit of financial security. I was thinking of all the talented singers who will never make a living singing or sculptors that won't sculpt and just generally, the people you know who are so much more interesting or funny than everyone else and you feel like they should have a bigger life. I lamented the waste of potential in so many people I know. I wondered if everyone (talented or not) thinks they are meant for something more or greater. I certainly have days where I think I should be on SNL. (Shortly after, I become aware of how much I would HATE being on tv.) Anyway, getting everyone's precious pictures made me reverse my tune. Life is mostly gentle, quiet things. Isn't it wonderful that everyday humans, amid all that we need to do to be comfy and fed, can also sing so sweetly? Or build something so beautiful? I'll probably always think the people I know are better than the famous or well-paid ones, but I guess this is a nice perspective to have in your back pocket.

We had thirty four people cram into our main room and while I loved seeing everyone, I didn't eat any dinner, enjoy a festive beverage, or even have a real conversation with anyone. I was too busy welcoming in, serving and cleaning. And it was still fun! But, that was too many people. The important bit though, was a final Christmas party for Ari, Nate and Birdie before they hit the dusty trail to Athens.

Post house party, Brett and I had to put on our Christmas-shopping thinking hats, wrap up projects for the year, attend a few dinner parties, and work out a menu for our double decker Christmas dinners.

Meanwhile at the shelter, dogs were flying off the shelves (kennels) which was great because something about the cold weather makes more people pull over to catch stray dogs so we had more dogs coming in each day than ever before. Last Tuesday, 31 dogs were brought in. Thrity-one! I've been over there most days of the week lately because we just don't have enough people for this many pups. I cannot comment on whats going on over on the cat side of things, but it looks equally chaotic - especially with this one cat, Lydia, who consistently climbs up the bars of her cage and then dangles from the ceiling tiles.

Let's see, what else? For Mom's side of the family, we did a Christmas Eve gathering with a "southern tacky" theme. Carolyn was inspired by the Trailer Park Murder Mystery party Brett and I went to back in October. I do not feel confident posting the photos here on account of not receiving permission to do so, and the more important idea that really, it's quite offensive. So much so, that many of the more classy members of the family did not participate. This includes Mom, Georgia, and everyone under 7 years old. So, here. Just this one...

Ok, this one too.

As for a more traditional Christmas gathering, we had the Eisenhauer family over for Christmas Day dinner. Brett bought an outrageously priced hunk of meat that he cooked to perfection while everyone else brought the normal things; green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, etc. I know this meal must have been good because Brett is never satisfied by the things he cooks, and for his Yorkshire pudding he said, "This turned out well." So it's probably the best things that's ever happened to a rib roast. Then we opened presents and ate cake while all the little boys tore up the shrubs in our backyard, pooped and farted in the house, and then used a large percentage of our toothpicks to make tiny medieval maces out of grapes. 

Ahh the joys of a small litter of boys. The house felt too quiet when everyone had left - Pippa and the cats came out of hiding to make sure we were still alive. Since then; lawn care, grocery shopping, the consideration of resolutions for the new year (Ha!), a few more holiday movies, and yesterday, I started my final week at the shelter. 

The shelter work, physically, has won. I have hip and leg pains that won't go away, cuts and scratches, and the new ability to determine the health of a poop based on smell. Emotionally, it has also won. I have cried over lost friends; both due to adoption and euthanasia, felt overjoyed watching dogs choose certain people, and taken on the burden of the outcomes of approximately 12 precious dog lives in particular. I genuinely love about forty-four dogs right now. I've tried to stop paying so close attention to the new ones coming in so that I don't fall for them too. Of the 44 I love, there are a handful whose futures feel paramount to my happiness. 

So I've got to get out of there.