Food Panic!
I told my friend J I'd meet her at her place at 5:30, to go buy Harry Potter IMAX tickets, grab a quick dinner, and then go to the 7:15 show.
At around 4:15 I was struck by food panic! Too late to grab light lunch! So I made myself a cheese omlette, and snacked on some napa kim chee. That should hold me over until six.
I should be grading now, BUT I'M NOT.
Instead, I'm practicing guitar, trying to figure out why my tap water is running brown, and watching the Food Channel. Christmas cookies have never been part of my family's cultural knowledge, but maybe this year it will happen.
Why? Well, Christmas has been unpredictable for the last few years. Last year was fun, but it was a little strange to be on the road--especially since I had strep. The year before that, we were in Vegas, which is just bizzare, especially midnight Mass at Guardian Angel Cathedral. Bizzare.
The Christmas before that, H and I went to bed without dinner waiting for my parents to come home. Where were they? Eating steak and lobster without us.
If we even go near a casino this year, there will be a fight. For those of you who don't know me, I remain mad until I get an apology. I never 'cool off' and I never forget and I never let it go. Why should I? So can fall for it again later, like a chump?
A few years ago I called my father and demanded that he apologize for not letting me play with my helicopter. He played with it for what seemed like forever, and wouldn't let me play. There's a picture of me, sitting next to him, crying. And for the next 20 years, I didn't ever want him to touch my stuff. Ever.
So when I called him, he thought I was insane for asking for an apology after 2o plus years, and of course, he said it just to placate me. But just the act of standing up for myself made me feel better. A lot better! I even thanked him.
Asking for forgiveness is so easy and so worth it. What does it cost? Only your ego.
Anyway, hopefully there will only be happy memories this Christmas. I better start making plans now, so we don't end up defaulting to something irritating.
3 comments:
Every year for many years I served Christmas eve dinner at my home. I did it mainly for the young people in our family and immediate relatives who were happy to share the fun with us. Of course the parents and adults came too. Christmas day at 6:00 P.M. was reserved for especial Christmas dinner for the four of us. Why on earth would I let you go to bed without dinner while we go out fatten ourselves somewhere else with steak and lobster? Did we bring all the left over from the night before and left you with an empty refrigerator? How mean can this parent be? I am offended. You better check your memory. Maybe that happenned in one of your bad dreams. We never went out on Christmas day because of our 6:00 p.m. dinner. H was the one who always went out to see her friends, but she always came home for the 6:00 P.M. dinner.
No, we went with you to the casino on Christmas day, played for a while, and got bored. We waited for an hour there are the casino for you all to finish. After that we got too bored and took one of the cars home. There was plenty of food in the kitchen but we waited for you to come home so we could have dinner as a family.
And then when you finally got home, hours later, you told us you had already eaten. Dad laughed at us and said you ate a steak and lobster. That's what I remember.
There was another time when we waited in the Tulalip parking lot for an hour while Dad was at the poker table. Twice, we went in to get him.
I do not have a single good memory associated with a casino.
hey, if i've ever pissed you off, i'm sorry.
that wasn't just to placate you, i just haven't heard from you in a while, and now i wonder if i've pissed you off!
call me and tell me what's in your fridge. i miss hearing a random fridge report.
and merry christmas!
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