Bobbe White for The White Pages @ wtad.com
Just like that (blink with me), Christmas has come and gone. It wasn’t even 48 hours ago; we were stocking stuffer shopping at Walgreen’s. It was a frenzied shopping week, right up until the last minute; an insane type of fun. This year, we spent Christmas at Nick and Jenna’s, our recently married son and daughter-in-law’s, home in St. Louis. It’s quite nice, we found out, to do something a bit different – traveling, as well as blending two families’ traditions. Two of my favorites are (1) everyone gets new jammies on Christmas Eve (White Family Tradition) and drinking Mimosa’s while opening gifts on Christmas morning (Sansing Family Tradition). There are others, but these came to mind because they’re so, so simple.
Let’s go back to the shopping, not my favorite thing, but the necessary lesson, which gets reinforced annually is worth the exercise. The lesson is planning, preparation and execution. Christmas is the goal – an obvious deadline, requiring lists, check-offs and planned attacks using every available minute, sandwiched into a work day and week-end. Errands are logistically mapped, so as to economize efforts. For people like us (PLU’s), organization, efficiency and logistics aren’t part of our usual M. O. (modus operandi). PLU’s find it difficult to stay on task to see something through to completion. This is what’s gratifying about Christmas. It forces PLU’s to conform – even if only until December 25th. We show up, pay up, wrap ‘em up and stack ‘em up. If we didn’t, there would be disappointed family members wearing old jammies. This isn’t exactly a hardship, but would constitute a break in tradition; one I choose not to face. Furthermore, if there was no follow-through, Christmas morning surprises and meals would be very unjoyful, like my French Silk Chocolate Pie, for example. Dessert was my assignment for Christmas dinner. There was only one thing I forgot to buy: pie crust. My options narrowed to one: make it. Oh joy. I began to hyperventilate, then decided to go for it. Not only that, I didn’t advertise this would be my first French Silk pie. Talk about pressure. I’m happy to report: “All turned out well.” This is the other Christmas miracle! Besides that, the recipe made two crusts; there’s an extra one in the freezer. Who knows? I may volunteer for dessert next Christmas. From scratch, Baby. I’ve got this! What about you? Did you have any close calls, near misses or miracles of your own making?
Hope your holiday was iced with newly created traditions, traditions retained or miracles made!
Bobbe
bobbewhitespeaks.com 