Tis the season once again. My Christmas aversion is almost cured and earlier this month I actually had a bit of joyful Christmas spirit. Preparing to have our first holiday in the new house got me excited about the possibilities. Of course I did break one rule in house hunting that I didn't realize that I had broken until we moved in. I was once told long ago to always imagine where you would put your tree when looking at a house that may become your home. In my defense I wasn't looking at an actual house. I was looking at a muddy lot and a sketched out floor plan. Once the dust settled and we were moved in it became apparent that there really weren't many places to put a tree. The entry way is the best option so that was what we decided to go with when the time came.
December always seems so far away until it gets here, then it zooms by making me feel anxious and rushed. There are not enough hours in the day. I was pleasantly shocked and amazed the first weekend when I returned from out of town to find that my husband had hung the Christmas lights and decorated the front yard. I usually have to prod him to do it and it is done with much grumbling under his breath. He is a third generation longshoreman so much of the grumbling consists of a variety of curse words. I believe part of his helpful gesture had to do with the fact that I had invited all of the neighbors in our new neighborhood of 19 houses to gather at our house for a holiday open house/meet and greet the following week. While he was out hanging the lights neighbors stopped to thank him for the invitation and to RSVP. This hair brained idea that he had balked at initially all of the sudden seemed great and he wanted to house ready for the party.
Two days before our open house we had a shopping day. It started out pleasant enough with hot cocoa and good cheer. We had a list and a plan. The day took a bit of a turn when we couldn't agree on a tree skirt. After several stores he was hissing at me under his breath about how I needed to just pick something. I held my tongue and decided that silence was the best course. We were annoyed with one another which is never fun and the fact that it was over a tree skirt just made it all completely ludicrous. We had bought a tree at a lot that was fundraising for a local softball team a few days before. The tree stood unadorned in our entry way waiting for someone to decide to decorate it. We had thrown away our previous tree skirt though I can't remember why and now it was of the utmost importance to buy another skirt or Christmas would surely be ruined. Isn't it all about the tree skirt? I would rather put a sheet under the tree than spend money on something I didn't like. What's wrong with a sheet? Thankfully the day was saved when I spotted a red tree skirt with silver snowflakes and a bit of bling at TJ Maxx.
With the tree skirt safely tucked away in the trunk we headed home. We received separate calls from our two youngest children who are away at college asking if they could come up for the weekend. We took advantage of having them there to finally get the tree decorated and the house ready for the upcoming party and the holidays. I was very happy with how the new tree skirt looked under the tree. My husband had also bought a new star that was a bit more disco-ish than I would have chosen, but nice all the same and a remote control so that he could turn the lights of the tree off and on with the push of a button.
Unfortunately one of our dogs thought that Christmas had surely come early for him. We had rigged up a very fancy and sparkling new bathroom for him right there in the entryway. He was so happy that he lifted his leg and peed all over it. Obviously this was not amusing to us but may have been forgiven if he had just done it the one time. No matter how many times we have rubbed his nose in it and told him no he continued to squirt the tree anytime our backs are turned. The tree skirt had to be washed twice and then put away so that it didn't get ruined. The fragrant smell of Christmas tree is no longer apparent. The poor tree has been sprayed with Fabreeze and Boundary (a product that is supposed to deter dogs from marking areas). I feel like I need to go out and buy a pine scented Glade plug in. The dog has a male doggy diaper that fits around his middle and covers up his pee squirter but I can't seem to keep it on him. He either wriggles out of it or his accomplices help him pull it off. The presents are stacked on the bench in the mudroom as I don't want anyone to have extra special Rooney scented wrapping paper on their gifts.
The neighborhood open house was almost perfect. Most of the neighbors came. They were very nice and gracious. Our house was filled with people. The small children played upstairs in the media room, wine was poured, food was eaten and everyone was in good cheer. The dogs were hidden away in our room since the party was supposed to be only two hours. When two hours had come and gone there were still over a dozen guests enjoying themselves. It was decided that we needed to get the dogs out to the yard to give them a break. We had explained to them how we had two wonderful Pitbull rescue dogs that were our babies. They are friendly and lovable but just a bit too rambunctious to have out during the party. One of the guests thought they were adorable and decided to go out to pet them. Luckily my husband went out as well. All was fine as she gave the youngest dog some love and attention. Unfortunately he can get jealous and when that happens it can get bad fast. Rooney came over to get some love too and Dempsey decided to show the pretty lady who was dominant. It isn't actually Dempsey but he tries. Dempsey attacked Rooney which is very loud, very scary looking and if you don't know them can totally freak you out. Antone grabbed Rooney and I had to run outside grab Dempsey by the back legs, lay on him and bite his ear. That is what has to happen. It isn't pretty but it is necessary. Until that point I think our guest thought we were pretty cool and awesome neighbors to have. Not sure what they thought after that spectacle that ended with a tiny bit of blood, some dirty jeans and broken glasses. I forgot that my glasses were on my head when I was wrestling with Dempsey. The house cleared out pretty quickly after that. I guess I'm lucky that they were an older crowd~the young families had already left. If there were any teens or young adults left in the house I'm sure I'd be on YouTube. It is my goal in life not to be on YouTube.
It is now less than a week until Christmas. Rooney and Dempsey are cuddled together being best friends because that is what they are 98% of the time. I still have two college aged children under my roof for the week which makes it seem almost like old times. I may or may not finish writing the Christmas Cards but I bought stamps just in case. I'm choosing to believe it will be a Merry and Bright Christmas for our family. Life isn't perfect. There are some heartbreaks happening and money is always tight this time of year. We have each other, we are all together and dammit we have a beautiful new tree skirt that may get put down on Christmas Eve and with any luck it will stay dry.
