AFTER CHRISTMAS by Gloria Alden

                                                  AFTER CHRISTMAS

                                     
             I know it's time for my Christmas tree to go, but I enjoy seeing it lit up with colored lights. The
Scotch pine needles are starting to fall off. Just like my sisters I want a real Christmas tree. So I had my grandson Jacob take me to the Christmas tree farm where I've been getting my trees the last few years. He has a pickup truck so it is easy to bring it to my house and he brought it in and put it in the Christmas tree container. Last year Jacob and his sister helped me decorate the tree but this year he had somewhere else to go so I decorated it myself. I also put up a small fake tree in the library, too, in front of the large window in there.
There's always so much that's needed to be done before Christmas. Shopping for gifts and wrapping them. Wrapping up grab bag gifts and preparing a Christmas meal.

This year my California daughter came home and spent most of her time cleaning my house and getting it ready for company.

On Christmas Eve my sister Suzanne always has her sisters and brother and their kids at her house, too. I always take simple gifts for the nieces and nephews, bags with swocks and gloves in them and if they have young children which most of them do, I put little toys in the bag, too. That evening is when we exchange gifts with each other. This year my daughter Susan went with me instead of Mary. She was too tired from cleaning.

My son who lives next door if you count my barn and pony pasture between us had his children and grandchildren on Christmas Eve, too, but he did come over on Christmas Day and we exchanged our gifts then. My brother Phil and my sister Suzanne were there, too, as well as my daughter Sue, her husband Mike and her two kids Jacob and Emilie.

Just about everyone brings grab bag gifts. Nothing much but the basket or large bag with all these small items are passed around. When all is gone and people have unwrapped what they got then we try to trade off what we don't want. This all goes back to when we were children and my father was a purchasing agent and someone he dealt with sent a bunch of small stuff which was passed around to my sisters and brothers and me to pick out. Later after the man didn't send anything anymore we started creating our own grab bag gifts for Christmas.

Before Christmas I went to a Christmas concert with this fantastic tenor singer Andy Cooney. He had us sing along with him, too. Afterwards I bought four of his CD's which he signed. One was of Christmas songs and the others were with Irish songs. He wasn't born in Ireland but his grandfather was and he visits there often.  Anyway before Christmas I played his Christmas album two or three times a day and sang along with him.

Mary flew back to California and Susan comes over often to help me with this and that. Except for taking care of my critters, two ponies, a barn cat, some chickens and my son's peacock and my peahen next door at his house. I don't do too much except run the sweeper, wash clothes, etc. I've been working a little on the tenth book in my series. I have a following who are eager to have me finish that, but I spend a lot of time sitting in my nesting chair reading the newspaper or books.

How was your Christmas?
What did you enjoy most about it?