Holiday Hodge-Podge

We have just 10 days until Christmas and our holidays are in full swing! Cookies have been baked, cards have been mailed, gifts are bought, most are wrapped, and now we just get to have fun delivering them. The early preparation I've done this year is really paying off. We've had time to gather in the living room with a roaring fire and enjoy our Christmas tree.

You all must feel like you know Mason by now, and those of you who know me, know he is my son through and through. Last week while I was working, I sent Mason out in the backyard to play. I could hear him talking to Johnny Test and they seemed to be getting along famously. I found myself engrossed in writing a letter when I heard Mason's voice coming from the front yard and he was talking with an adult man. I ran downstairs and out on to the front deck to see Mason in the middle of a sales transaction. He had set up a folding chair at the bottom of the driveway with a pile of his toys on the ground next to him. He was standing next to a truck with a man leaning out the window holding a toy boat (the man worked for Davey, a commercial tree trimming service). He was asking Mason if it floated and Mason told him not so good. I called out to Mason to let both of them know I was there when the man looked up at me and said, "You've got quite a boy here." I nodded while Mason got right back to the sale. Mason told the guy that though the boat didn't float so good by itself, it was still fun to play with in the bath tub. The guy asked Mason what he wanted for the boat and Mason put his hand to his chin thinking. The guy offered him $2.00 and Mason said, "Sure!" I called to Mason to come upstairs and as the guy handed Mason the money, he waved to me and said, "Smart boy. Good job mom." And he drove away. Yes, kids become what they see and it appears my entrepreneurial ways are rubbing off on Mason.

Finally, Dave came up with an idea to use our Halloween pumpkins a third time. We decorated with them alongside our Jack-O-Lanterns and then we used them with corn stalks for Thanksgiving. This weekend at Dave's suggestion, I painted them red and green, painted cocktail cups gold, added a hook made from a hanger with a red bow, and turned our twice-used pumpkins into holiday ornaments in our yard!

I learned this week that I didn't get the job with the National Guard and to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It's hard to reconcile when the powers that be didn't even meet me and interview me. I tell Mason often that life is not fair. I say it now with a renewed, and painful sense of how true it really is. I know it must not have been the job for me so I better get to finding the one that is. I'm still doing mortgages but really want to find steady, regular paying employment.

I hope all of you are well and enjoying the Christmas season as we are. Even though we've had some recent disappointments, we take time everyday to recognize how lucky we are to have all that we do and mostly each other!