My Favorite Things

Today's rant might be more nostalgic than verbal diarrhea. Mom and I watched the first half of "The Sound of Music" last night (one of my favorite films) and I started thinking about my favorite things about Christmas. Here's my informal list:

1. PaPa's blessing. My grandfather was a creature of habit. He ate cornflakes for breakfast every day for 35 years and he always said the same blessing. It was a very simple, straightforward prayer but what all the grandchildren appreciated about it was the delivery. He had this deep, gruff grandpa kind of voice and he slung that prayer out there at top speed and slurred it all together. We always had to stifle a giggle. It was this muddled bucket of prayer and it always tickled us.

2. Aunt Sandra's candy. Every Christmas my Aunt Sandra would bring a dozen tins or so of fudge, chocolate covered coconut balls, divinity and chex mix. MaMa set up grazing stations in the living room; the food was rarely left unattended. Someone was always picking at food.

3. Dahlonega, GA. Once my family moved to Texas we wanted to keep up with our relatives in Georgia and Tennessee so the first weekend in December my dad rented out this mountain top lodge in the north Georgia mountains. We'd play board games, tell tall tales and eat fried chicken all weekend long. You always wanted GiGi on your team in Trivial Pursuit since she "was history" according to my dad.

4. movies and ballgames. My Aunt Sandy (not Aunt Sandra) is a huge fan of "It's a Wonderful Life" and she passed on the love of that film to me. Christmas isn't Christmas without the sound of football or "Christmas Vacation" in the background.

5. waiting for Santa. Christmas Eve rocked. I loved staying up late with my brother and cousins waiting for Santa. We'd giggle and tell gross stories in our Raggedy Ann and Andy sleeping bags until we passed out from exhaustion. No wonder our parents always looked like they'd been run over by a truck the next morning. My brother had the best fart jokes. :)

Well, I should get back to the Wassel and the cooking. Happy Holidays!