Christmas Delayed

You’re probably scratching your head right about now and wondering at the title of this blog.  Christmas delayed?  It's barely into November and we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet!  I totally understand the confusion the title may bring and I'm here to explain.

You see, the Christmas season here at the Wereb household doesn't begin on December 1st.  For us it actually begins on the 1st weekend of October.  ????  I know, I know, you might need a moment to digest this startling news so go ahead, take a deep breath and let it sink in.

There.  Ready now?  Good!

Years ago my hubby asked if we could put the Christmas decorations up in November.  I didn't see the harm in it, so I agreed.   It was great fun and made the house festive, so it wasn't a surprise when he came to me a year later and suggested we put the decorations up on October 31st.   Since we don't really celebrate Halloween I thought it wouldn't be so bad and again, I agreed.   I have to admit though, when he suggested we start decorating the 1st weekend of October I had my doubts.   I mean, that is pretty early, but in the end how could I resist his pleading and I caved in, much to his delight.   And it's been this way ever since.

Except this year.  And I gotta admit, I'm kinda sad.  If you read last week’s blog you'll understand.  You see, due to our ‘double move’ our Christmas has been delayed by a whole 2 months!

The apartment looks empty without the tree sparkling in the corner.  I miss the handmade Christmas village my grandmother worked so hard on and the quaint little ceramic Nativity scene my mother gave me.   I miss the beautiful handcrafted tree skirt my other mother created for us when we were newly married and I miss the memories our many ornaments whisper to me from their perch among the branches.

Of course I know that the reason behind the season is what's important, and having a relationship with Jesus means that every single day of the year is a gift to be opened and shared, but I miss the tangible effect those decorations bring in my life.  Feelings of love, peace, family, and community all wrapped up in tinsel and shiny baubles.  And so, let me be the first one to officially tell you, despite the delay…

The Chaos of Moving

We are moving again.  For my close friends this should not come as a surprise, since we tend to move, a lot.  Since my husband and I were married almost 22 years ago we’ve moved at least a dozen times, probably more if I sit down and think it over…which I choose not to do because it requires more brain power than my one cup of coffee this morning allows.

It's not that we love moving, I mean, who does?  Some of the moves were out of necessity.  Some were due to circumstances beyond our control.   And some were (yes, I have to admit it) simply because we wanted a change of scenery.  No matter the reason we would have to admit that we do not love the chaos moving brings.

Especially this time.

Due to the extremely rainy weather we are going to have to move twice within a relatively short time.  I know!  Rain in Arizona seems like an oxymoron.  Doesn't make sense, but we do get enough rain to bring flash floods during this time of year.  And apparently our electric company is just as confuzled as we are, because due to the rain they cannot hook up our new apartment until a month after our scheduled move-in date!

Unfortunately that means we have to rent an apartment for a month until our new place is hooked up…and then we get to move again!  “Why not stay where we are for an extra month?” you must be asking right about now.  I'm so glad you asked!  Our current apartment has already rented our place, so we must vacate at the scheduled time.  Thus the reason for the chaos.

We are now trying to decide what we need to live with for the month and what can be stowed away in our makeshift storage apartment until we move again.  It's actually a little funny, if you think on it a bit.  Sure makes us evaluate our priorities with our wants and needs, at the very least.   I mean, we are now down to that very basic question…What can I live without and still function like a rational adult human being?

I’m happy to say that we finally made our choices and are now living free from the chaos.  Everything has been either safely stowed away, or is happily sitting in our new temporary apartment, but I think I’ve boiled it all down to one thing, one thing that I absolutely cannot live without.

Coffee.  Lots and lots of coffee.  Everything else is just icing on the top.