Festive Frenzy

(Please read the following to the tune of "Twelve Days of Christmas".)

"By the 5th of December my party count was three! Two great church gatherings. And a concert that was absolutely freeeeee."

Yes, friends. My posting has slowed to a crawl for many reasons. The main reason being all things fantastic about Christmas!

Would it be right for someone who loves people so very much (as do I) to NOT be part of multiple festive gatherings at this most social time of year? (Okay, so you detected that I've also enjoyed far too many peppermint latte's already. Hasn't everyone?!)

It's true. I'm a Christmas Festivity Junkie!

Even as I compose this post, I have rolling in the back of my mind the necessity of soon determining wardrobe choices for the next three evenings of "Meeting and Greeting." My sister has often referred to me as the "Social Butterfly" in her life. Whatever could she mean?

Now, all this gathering has it's down side too.

Like Friday morning when I got up to discover my first Christmas Disaster of 2011.

Frank had spent five precious hours the Friday before giving our carpet the cleaning of its fibrous life! When he finished, it looked almost new. I could hardly wait for the entertaining to begin.

Unfortunately, Bella (the horse dog) sneaked some Christmas chocolate that dogs aren't supposed to eat because it makes them violently ill. And she decided to become violently ill on my freshly cleaned carpet!! And we had twenty guests scheduled to arrive in eight short hours!

What do you mean, "Is she better now?"

What you need to ask is, "Did she live to see another day?!"

Yes, but only because Frank hid her in the garage before I could get to her! And yes, she's better....stupid dog!

Frank re-cleaned the necessary areas. We bought Christmas-scented air freshener in the industrial size. Lowered the lights. Lit candles. And hoped everyone would buy the idea that it was all ambiance related!

Then there was the Sunday morning disaster. The water department failed to meet their expected time of 6:00 AM to have the water back on in our community after working through the night. That meant we had to jump into high gear, pack up and dash to the church for showers.

As a bonus, the water in our church shower tops the meter for being sulfuric. In other words, it smells just like rotten eggs!

What a stinky start for Sunday morning. Kristin and I literally gagged our way through the necessary Sabbath cleanings. Whew!

All attitudes were quickly adjusted in order to enjoy Sunday service with our church family.We headed home after lunch, hoping to catch a quick nap before the party that night.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear but droplets of water and a raging shower, Dear! You guessed it. I turned the shower on while the water was off. And later when the water came back on, there was no one home to turn the shower off!!

We'll have other Christmas disasters for 2011, I'm sure. But we've come to view these as all part of the Memory Making Process.

Some of our funniest family stories revolve around situations that felt like a real disaster at the time. Might as well stop and laugh. What else are you gonna do?

I came across a great thought jotted in the back of my calendar. The speaker said, "God uses difficulty to beckon us; not BURY us. Without Goliath, David would have just been a musician tending sheep!"

Rich, right?

May all your festivities be more fun than frenzy! And if not, just think, you've made a memory!!