Home for Christmas

I am thirty-seven years old. I live in Texas now, but I grew up in New Mexico. For the first time since I was eighteen, I will be home for Christmas this year. 

I have been home many times, but usually in the summer, around the Fourth of July, never at the winter holidays.  ‘Home’ for my folks now is not the same home in which we had Christmas together the last time. The house is different, and the people have changed and grown (and we’ve added some Sonars), but we will all be there together. 

A lot of ugly things have happened in my family since then. Gradually, though, (stubbornly slowly, you might say), I recognized my stupidity and selfishness and did that thing where I untangled my priorities and realized what was most important in my life and who were the most important people.  I hear that song “Boots” by The Killers and that’s exactly how I feel about Christmas this year. I have been remembering the magic of my childhood Christmases and hoping for a tiny little bit of that, and for many years I’ve been working to knock the mud off my boots. This year I’ll finally have the chance to step back into home.

I am unbelievably geeked about going home for Christmas. I thought I would be nervous, worried about an upswelling of stupid emotional baggage, and while those thoughts jangle around in the back of my head a bit, they don’t upset me. They aren’t taking away my joy. 

My joy, though, is nothing compared to the excitement I see in my parents, who will hosting their grand-Sonars for Christmas for the first time, and I have absolutely no doubt, will be spoiling them silly. My dad is sending me messages every couple of days, questions, observations, little announcements that they’re ready and really excited and will we be there soon? And can we come sooner?  I love it. 

Of Junk Food and Profile Pictures

Talking to the kids about junk food the other day made me wonder what they would do if I let them buy any food they wanted from the store. We eat pretty healthy around here. Lots of fresh fruit, very little processed food and refined sugars. Sure, they have a candy jar, but they eat one piece of candy out of it a couple of times a week. I put a chocolate kiss in their lunches. One dark chocolate kiss. 

But then I told them about my eating habits in high school. There was mention of a candy bar every morning during homeroom. At least one and more frequently two Dr Peppers a day. Partner chimed in with stories of bags of potato chips and french onion dip consumed in a single afternoon. Plus lots of soda and ice cream. There was a story about whole chickens in there too, but that’s not junk food. Anyway, they were amazed that we would eat this way. 

So I started asking them, if I got out of the way and they wanted junk food, what would they buy? Chips? Soda? Candy? Ice cream? Maybe I should have stopped there. 

Today I may have taken leave of my senses. This was a short, chaotic week of school. Today was a fun, busy, unpredictable, tiring day. On the way home this evening, at ten to five, I took them into the grocery store and gave them each five bucks and told them to buy whatever junk food they wanted. Here’s what they got…

Sonar X5: Chocolate Rice Quakes ($1), Lock Jaw 7-piece Sour-Sweet Candy Pack ($1), Beef jerky ($1), Tiny Mango Sorbet ($1), Tiny Cookie Dough Ice Cream ($1). 

Sonar X7: French Onion Dip ($0.79), Potato chips ($1), Warheads Sour Spray ($1), Pint of Rocky Road Ice Cream ($1.72).

Sonar X10: Can of salt and vinegar Pringles ($1.50), Lock Jaw 7-piece Sour-Sweet Candy Pack ($1), Blue Raspberry Pop Rocks ($0.50), Pint of Butter Crunch Ice Cream ($1.72).

We don’t keep any of these foods in the house. Once every couple of months or so I’ll buy some chips and dip. Likewise with the ice cream. The rest, no way.

After dinner I let them rip into their new stashes. They were surprisingly thoughtful and generous, sharing tastes of their stuff with each other, talking together about this little party. Some they tasted, some they decided to save for holiday traveling. They tortured me with Pop Rocks. While they were doing this, I tried to take a new profile picture in my Mom shirt. It was a tricky shot. Mainly because monkeys kept popping into it. 

Contrived profile shot interrupted by Sonar X10

Contrived profile shot interrupted by Sonar X7

Contrived profile shot interrupted by Sonar X5

Hey look, the uninterrupted contrived profile shot

After they got all sugared up, and really, truly, and thoroughly tired, one meltdown ensued. Maybe they can wait to buy their own junk food in college.  

Random Friday in NaNoLand

1. Today’s NaNoWriMo wordcount is 12,954. The one-quarter mark. 

2. Total revision time this week: three hours.  I’m two hours behind in my revision goal, but the day isn’t over!

3. No more lunch food has appeared in my street, but I have a suspect.  Notice that there was no dessert left in the street? No juicebox? I’m guessing that the eight year old living in the house next to the tableau was generating an impromptu art installation with the undesirable portions of his lunch. 

4. We had a Halloween. That’s a Mad Hatter hat from last year, and my shirt say “I’m Under the Thrall of the Dark Prince.” Yep, Lord of the Rings, check. Harry Potter, check. Buffy reference, check. And Sonar X10 got his costume out of The Encyclopedia of Immaturity.  We know how to get our geek on around here.  

Gimli, Harry, Mad Mama, Headless Kid

Random Tuesday: Vote-o-wrimo Edition

My brain is twitching with my current work-in-progress, so coherence is more than you should expect today.

Randomly:

1. I voted this morning. Did you?

2. My NaNo wordcount is 5,292. Writing goal met for days 1 and 2. Revising goals are waiting…

3. My copy of the royal portrait of Richard II keeps jumping off the wall. Anyone else having that problem?

4. Sonar X10 and his social studies class have been talking about the electoral process in the lead-up to Election Day.  Yesterday they discussed the candidates for Texas governor, reading about each one.  They made some campaign posters, and today the school will hold a mock gubernatorial election.  So awesome.  At dinner last night when he was telling us all this, we asked him who he plans to vote for. Bill White was his immediate answer.  When asked why, he said there were several things about him that he liked, but if he had to pick one, he liked Bill White’s idea of expanding pre-k programs across the state. We are doing something right. 

5. Partner stumbled upon this poem — “The Look” by Sara Teasdale — the other day, which I really love, especially since he tagged it with the phrase “the ache of potential.”

Now, I have some revising to do. Write hard, friends!

Sonar Sighted, Teeth Missing

The brown-eyed Sonar X7 has lost his two front teeth in as many days. Our gap-toothed wonder. Click to embiggen.

Sonar X7, missing his two front teethThis guy sleeps with piles of pillows all around him and usually jokes that he is the Pillow Master. Last night, in a fit of tooth-loss, adrenaline-fueled silliness, he decided he was the Pillo-tar (think Avatar: The Last Airbender). Master of the four Pillow-ments (elements).  I told him that sounded like Pillow Mints, those little candies.  Much giggling ensued.

Sonar X10 took it one step further, declaring himself the Sleep-atar, master of the four Bed-ements.  His Pillow-bending skills are excellent (unlike Ang, who bends Air, Water, Earth, and Fire), and he’s currently engaged in study of Sheet- and Pajama-bending.  One day he knows his most difficult challenge will be to face his arch-enemies and master Mattress-bending.  The giggling underwent a manifold increase.    

Yeah, we’re all pretty deliciously geeky around here.