TheBanyanTree: Gloomy

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Our gloomy month of December drones on.  The sun is a stranger.  Cold
temperatures don’t exist and we are doing fine in the warm air.  The little
bit of snow that manages to spit out of the sky melts quickly.  The Twin
Cities is not a winter tableau this year.

Susan, the boys, and I did the Reindeer Run last Saturday.  It was a warm
Saturday morning when we drove to Minneapolis and found Lake Harriet.  The
lake wasn’t even frozen and some men were fishing from shore.  They were a
bit upset to see all the Santa Clauses, reindeer, and elves pretending to be
runners invading their quiet fishing area.

The Reindeer Run is a great kick-off to Christmas.  I love being out in the
crisp air, except this year it was more like fall air.  Susan was smart and
brought the double stroller, since the boys can slow their pace to
snail-like crawls if we want them to move fast.  We didn’t want to be the
last ones through the finish line.  But the boys did run a bit.  Unlike
adults, who run because they “should,” these boys run for the sheer joy of
it.  And it was a joy just to watch them zoom ahead of us.

The little one loved the runners who dressed up as Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles.  The older one liked the Spider Man runners.  Our group was
conservative, we just wore Santa hats, although the older one refused to
wear his.  Smart kid.

We took the boys with us to get our tree.  It was warm night.  We enjoyed
strolling through the lines of fragrant pines.  The older one wanted to find
“the perfect tree.”  The tree he picked isn’t too tall, but not too short
either.  When we got the tree home and into the house, the boys helped
Grandpa saw off the lower branches so the tree would fit into the stand.
The older one gathered up the branches and took them home to “decorate” his
porch.  They’re still in a pile on the porch.  Good intentions.

My son, the boys, Ray, and I went to the Marshall Field’s (it will always be
Dayton’s to me) auditorium and saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.  This
was the modern vision, with the dwarves as dancers working in a hot night
club, and Snow White and her prince looking a bit like funky teenagers.  The
boys are old enough to enjoy the story now instead of zooming through the
display.  The crowds of people jammed into the auditorium didn’t faze them
at all.

The visit to Santa was a success.  The little one wasn’t afraid.  They
smiled for the camera and solemnly told Santa what they wanted for
Christmas.

We fought through the crowd down the escalators and went out the door.  That
cool air felt great after sweating in the store.  The Holidazzle parade was
ready to start.  My son parked the boys on the curb and they prepared to be
enchanted by all the colorful lights dancing in the dark.  I bought them
those cheap flash lights that blink and within an hour both flashlights were
broken and not functioning.  Hmmm . . . I paid $5 each for something the
boys “had to have.”  That’s what grandmas are for.

We were hungry and the lines to all the restaurants were long and
intimidating, so we went to this terrible restaurant that was also a video
gaming place.  The service was non existent.  The place was half full and it
appeared to be plenty of wait people around.  However, our food didn’t come
for almost an hour.  When it did come, it was cold.  We only stayed because
the boys were so hungry.  It was the worst restaurant experience I’ve ever
had.  They gave us a ton of video game time cards and we didn’t have to pay
for the meal.  But we were able to laugh about it as we left the restaurant
and walked up to the hotel where our car was parked.  And it didn’t seem to
bother the boys at all.  They had tummies full of cold food.

I’m hoping to wrap up my Christmas preparations this weekend (no pun
intended) and then settle in to enjoy the holiday.  I’ll play my Christmas
CDs.  We’ll decorate the tree.  I’ll sneak out into the warm night and
finish up my Christmas shopping.  We’ll sign and assemble our cards for
mailing.  And maybe I’ll do a little Christmas baking.

It sure would be nice just to have a quick visit from the sun, just to see
how he’s doing.  And a visit from Jack Frost and have him nip at my nose
would be great, too.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
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http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving,
charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of
the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up
hearts freely.
~Charles Dickens