Under the Glass Bell

Please Have Snow and Mistletoe

Fuck the Christmas Carolers.

This is the third year they've completely offended me. On the face of it, I have no problem with people standing outside of my house and seranading me. But their song choice needs help. 

Last night while sitting on the couch enjoying my Hanukkah candles, I hear clomp, clomp, clomping up the steps followed by the doorbell. The singing starts and I quickly realize that they are singing, "The First Noel." I'm overcome with a sudden urge to grab my menorrah, run to the window and display it to make them buzz off. Because not everyone in the world is a Christian, you know.

But, I don't. "It's not that big of deal", I tell myself. "Let them do their thing."

But then comes the line,  "Born is the King of Israel"  and I'm fucking furious.

It takes a lot of nerve to come stand on my front lawn and sing to me about how your God is the king of Israel. I'm a Jew. Don't talk to me about Israel. Why can't they sing about fucking Frosty? Sing about baby Jesus. I don' t care. Just back off Israel.

Anyway, I'm sit and fume and B walks in and I tell him that I'm going to shove the Menorah up in the window and he says, "Go ahead".

?!?!?!?!

My husband never, NEVER condones any kind of agressive behavior like that. And I'm full of it, to tell you the truth and have to repress it a lot so as to stay in his good graces. So, I make a grab for the Menorah, run for the door and am pissed off because they're already at the neighbors house.

So, I missed my chance at husband-sanctioned caroler abuse. Oh well. There's always next year.

Happy Hanukkah.

You, You Dress in Pink and Blue Just Like a Child

Cripes, my mouth still hurts. Go back to the oral surgeon tomorrow for a follow up. Bluh.

Hanukkah begins tomorrow at Sundown and I am really excited. Hanukkah was so special to me last year. I was incredibly pregnant and every night I would sit and knit and stare at the lit candles. So beautiful.

We're having a small party on Saturday night. I went shopping and bought gifts for the family and, of course, baby C tonight. I'm staying up now wrapping his gifts. I also bought new curtains for the living room. Feeling good about them. I actually think they are the exact curtains that Red Betty has in her living room! What was that about imitation being the highest form of flattery.

I've been saying it for months, but OH MY GAWD does our house need a good painting. I LOVE all of our new living room stuff, but the cream colored wall is just NOT cutting it anymore. The whole thing will feel much more pulled together once we get that done. So, I believe that will be our goal for January.

I felt panicked shopping this evening. There is something about walking out of a store with a huge cart of stuff that makes my heart race these days. And, it's not really about the money. It's more about consumption. We are a society of consumers. We consume to the point of being gluttonous. I keep thinking more and more about what I need in my life and what I don't. I'm starting to make an effort to pare back. And while I was buying gifts for others, plus the curtains and some new dishes for entertaining, just pushing a heaping cart around made me feel like a glutton.

This is also coming about because of the insane amount of toys available to buy BAby C. My family didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up. I have affluence now that I never imagined. And so my urge is to splurge on my baby boy. But it's starting to get to me. Just how many toys that coo and beep and roar does he need? I don't want to lead a life of gluttony. And I want to teach him the value of wanting something and working hard to get it. Not just indulging your every whim because you can.

He's eleven months old now and he's becoming more and more conscious every day. This is his first Hanukkah and while he certainly won't remember it or get much out of it, I want to do it by the book. I want to make the latkes and light the candles and tell the story of Hanukkah, the miracle of the oil, so that we plant a seed as a family. We do these rituals because we are Jewish and a family.