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2001-12-26 - 6:15 a.m.
post-hush
Post-hush------------------ Early, early. 3s just left on his way to if. He arrived here around noon yesterday, as he had to load his truck and then go on this morning. He backed the truck and trailer into the shop driveway and left the reefer on the whole time. Not because the milk would get warm but because it would freeze! I think he likes this new assignment. All the fun of long haul, but no long stayaways. Sometimes I think back to his fifth grade teacher telling me he had all the mental qualifications to be a doctor or lawyer. He is content with the way he has chosen. He is not real fond of responsibility. That does not make him irresponsible, though. He is just very careful and choosy about what responsibilities he has a choice in. He and 2d were talking before dinner about missing the boat matewise. They both agreed they had not met anyone they were willing to sacrifice for. I think they just have never been in love (or should I say lust) with anyone. They both think a good relationship would come from someone they were good friends with first, as they have never been willing to play the courtship game. I also think they are very wary of what happened to 2s. We warped them in this culture by giving them Your guidelines, so I am content for You to lead them in those guidelines. This was the most unusual Christmas dinner for our family. 1d had bought an eleven pound prime rib roast. We decided to cook it in the turkey roaster to leave the oven free for the traditional dinner things. It should have cooked 5 hours, but that roaster cooks things much quicker. In 3, it was done and we left it 4, so didn't get that two-toned effect. It was good but not quite rare enough for the rare meat lovers. Since we cooked it in the roaster this way, there was no juice for gravy, and 1d had au jus preparations anyway, so baked potatoes were suggested. Green beans, bacon and onions, and fruit salad completed the meal along with olives and stuffed celery. The fresh cranberries for relish, sweet potato casserole, corn and oysters and pumpkin pie were all omitted. Pecan and cherry pie were dessert. A very different meal. Who says old people aren't flexible? Every family member was present and a picture was not taken (who would have taken it?) There may not be too many opportunities like that again, although I am not planning on going early. But accidents do happen as we have learned in the past. I had to look up one of my presents on eBay. 2d got me 6 pieces of Royal Worcester Evesham porcelain we had seen in a little 2nd had store earlier this year. According to eBay, just one piece is worth what she paid for all 6. They have gold rims and various vegetables and fruits on them. One of the lids is not an exact fit. Perhaps that is planned. Perhaps it was mixed up when the set was separated. I feel very wealthy, since 800 gave me 2 flannel nighties! Two at the same time! They are also floor length, and tuck over my toes easily. 2s did not find that to be a very high priority on his list of nighty expectations, but 800 told him to wait til he got to our age! 3s gave us a laminator, a wondrous contrivance which will provide lots of fooling around. 1d, d and e gave me a dark purple velvet boa and some Leaning Tree stationery with horses galloping through snow. 2s, k and s gave me Oreo icecream bowls complete with scoop, chocolate sauce packets, and Oreo cookie crumbles. No one got DVD players, TVs, microwaves, etc. and it was lovely. Scaling down can go even further if we so choose, since the big kids are talking of drawing names and just buying presents for the littles. Whatever. It is just nice to get together on friendly terms, no one mad or not speaking. That would be so painful. In my wee hour awake moments, I finished the Elisabeth Ogilvie book I bought this fall on eBay set in Scotland during the enclosures. I think that had happened a few centuries earlier in England. Whatever America's failures are, the open doors and opportunities for the poor and homeless to survive and thrive cover them all. Those same opportunities are here for those who work hard and live simply. Too many homeless and poor have wasted much in riotous living and disastrous habits. I see the same thing happening in other countries. The media puts out visions of the good life; new SUV's, luxurious homes, exotic vacations. Those are not for all of us. 'Feed me with food that is convenient for me'. That is still good advice. Peace and contentment along with the necessities of life are enough. I say that knowing there are vast numbers of people that have none of those things, let alone the luxuries. Not many in our land, but in places all over the world. Christianity opened the way for much of the good the Western world knows, but we are now in the post-Christian era. It could all go as we drop down farther into paganism.
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