Tuesday 26 October 2010

Memories

Well Hallowe'en disco at school has been and gone. Eldest had a riot doing the DJing. Youngest attended her 1st school disco. Now just got Sunday nite - Hallowe'en to contend with. How many times will my doorbell be rung! How many jokes will I have to listen to?!

And then onwards and upwards Christmas here we come. My other 1/2 (I hesitate to say better!!!) is already thinking Xmas - presents, food, tree, etc. etc. HELP!! Need to make Christmas cake next weekend, and then there is no stopping the slippery slope downwards and all for what - 24 hrs. and then its done for another year. But the pleasure and joy on their faces makes up for it. And no matter what age I am I can't help but "fill up" seeing the decorated tree, smelling the fresh pine scent, the presents underneath but most of all, I love Christmas Eve, when they are all in bed and "Santa" is visiting and then I go up the stairs full of anticipation of the next morning. I love in my secret self these final hours of peace when present wrapping as quietly as possible and then tiptoeing up to bed to allow Santa to come. In these magical couple of hours it is all still to happen and the anticipation of the pleasure fills me with a warm cozy feeling. - but hey, I'm getting carried away already. We still have all the present buying, card writing, posting madness leading up to Christmas to deal with. But hey ho. Life is life as they say.

On an entirely other tack - I know I am getting old when I have to be the one attending Parents Nite at school. This is coming up next week - I can never get away from how "grown up" this makes me feel - I remember the anticipation of waiting for my Mum & Dad to come home from the school parent nite/teacher meeting and begging as soon as they were through the door - " well what did the teacher say, am I good, is everything OK!" Well believe it or not my kids still do the same with me - a soon as I am through the door blah de blah. Funny what goes around, comes around. It all changes, but stays the same!

And finally, before I sign off - lets not leap too far forward - before Xmas, we still have Hallowe'en (which I have touched on) and then Guy Fawkes - this year, I think I am going to try my babes out with Sparklers - again, another fun thing, I always recall doing on Guy Fawkes with my Sparkler was writing my name in the air and watching it disappear - poof! and its gone! - simple things, I know, but hey its the little things, simple things that make up the whole! and memories are made of these.

Monday 4 October 2010

Xmas Already Aaargh!

When did life become so rushed. We haven't even had Hallowe'en yet, not to mention Guy Fawkes and Christmas is in the shops already!!! The scary thing about this is that it starts me thinking about Christmas this early - what to get the kids who have it all - whats wrong with a dolly and an action man? Am I showing my age - now it has to be IPods and mobile phones - nothing nice and simple.
But don't get me wrong - as an "old fashioned" (ie 20th Century) mummy, I still like to give my kids that taste of what Xmas is all about - the simple Xmas - tangerine in your stocking at the end of your bed, with all the silly wee toys that are broken before lunch is eaten, traditional in my house is home made chocolate truffles - I always had them as a kid, so my kids will always have them, hand made by mummy; The Night Before Christmas read when they are tucked up in bed, another tradition that can't be foregone - because at the end of the day, we have to remember that Christmas is not just about who got the most expensive or biggest, it is about tradition, love, caring and sharing. Lets not lose sight of that and don't let our "computer age" kids lose sight of the best things life has to offer either!