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A Johnson Merry Christmas

December 25, 2010 By 7 Comments

A glimpse of the Johnson's Christmas

Keep reading to find out the end of the stolen orange caper story.

After unwrapping bags, packages and sacks of toys, Sammy disappeared. He cantered into our bedroom with a purposeful look on his face. We looked at each other, puzzled. I glanced over at the folk art Santa. The stacks of dried orange slices were gone.

Getting up to investigate, I collide with Sammy. He is running out of our room with a LL Bean satchel in his mouth. Simultaneously, the doorbell rings. Sammy flies to the front door. Standing there is Duncan, his buddy JRT, who lives next door. Duncan has a pair of swim trunks on. He peers around me, signaling to Sammy it’s time to go.

About this time, LT walks out of our room reading out loud a note he had left on the dresser.

Dear Mama and Daddy,

Please do not be mad at me. Duncan and I have gone to Florida to meet girls. We will be back by New Year’s Eve.

love,

Sammy,   Samuel Winifred Hambone Johnson

p.s. Mama, I hope you don’t mind; I took a few orange slices. Duncan said we could give them to the girls, they love oranges in Florida.

Merry Christmas,

ridgely, LT and Sammy (no, he did NOT go to Florida with Duncan)

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Happy Birthday Aunt S

December 23, 2010 By 5 Comments

Happy Birthday Aunt S

My dear Aunt S’s birthday is today, December 23, 2010. We are celebrating her 82nd birthday with our traditional dinner at Oscar’s, a local restaurant. Since the first year in our new home, she and Mommy have spent the Christmas season with LT and me.

This year I threatened to give her an obscure gift, a deviation from the ‘official Aunt S’s birthday/Christmas list.’  I couldn’t do it. I crumbled. I gave her a listed item: a jigsaw puzzle. Before you jump to the conclusion this is an ‘easy way out, ‘let me enlighten you with Aunt Sallie’s puzzle prerequisites. Said jigsaw puzzle

  • must be a Springbok puzzle
  • must have 500 pieces or less
  • must be a ‘light’ puzzle. This is what separates the girls from the ladies in puzzle giving. The idea here is for the puzzle pieces to be visible on a dark background, e.g. Aunt Sallie assembles them atop her antique mahogany table.

Aunt S selects one puzzle to assemble during her South Carolina visit. The others, she packs carefully, shipping home to Florida. During her 2010 visit, she has taken on an additional task.

Aunt S intends to teach Sammy to pick up his toys after he plays with them. As she described her plan, memories of days playing with toys at Aunt S’s home surface. She gave my little sister and me full reign of her home. Her only rule: to put our toys away in ‘our closet.’

In lieu of a closet, Aunt S chose a cardboard box for Sammy. Capturing his full attention, she demonstratively placed Sammy’s toys in the box. Playing coy, Sammy initially ignored the cardboard structure. Then, unable to resist, he inched his way toward the box, prepared at any moment to pounce. Finding no opponent, he quickly toted one toy out of the box, then another, then another until he emptied the box.

After an ‘adequate’ length of time, Aunt S purposely put the toys away, using her grabber. Since his initial lesson, Sammy has taken three toys out of the box, and returned none. Aunt S remains optimistic. She believes Sammy will learn.

Aunt S is one of my biggest fans, a person who loves me unconditionally. I am blessed to have her as my aunt.

Happy Birthday, Aunt S.

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Are Your Presents Wrapped?

December 21, 2010 By 4 Comments

I hear Perry Como singing, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” as I step over boxes, open the door and greet the newest member of the family, the Fed Ex man.I restrain from asking him if he has any scotch tape in his truck as I have spent the last 20 minutes looking for a roll. Instead, I smile my ‘bless your heart,’ sweet, southern, sorority girl smile, and take the 50th package he has delivered to us this week.

the antique santas accompany Mr. Como

As it is now, I gather the wrapping equipment I can find, and head to the gift stack. Balancing two rolls of paper, scissors and three gift boxes. I weave my way around Sammy and the scattered Kong toys. I feel certain Sammy is asking himself, “so, what is she going to use for tape: the gorilla glue I tried to eat last week?”Arriving at the pile of presents placed precariously on my side of the bed, I head off an avalanche using the bed as a pit stop. I take a deep breath. Every damn magazine I pick up insists a few moments of deep breathing will rid your body of anxiety. Something is not working; all I am getting is a flashback to my last doctor’s appointment; he is telling me to take a deep breath as he listens to my breathing with a stethescope.

Years ago Mommy taught my little sister and me how to wrap presents. We watched in fascination as she transformed a dull little box into a candy-cane treasure. Our presents were

Hallmark Christmas 2010

wrapped with Hallmark red and white striped wrapping paper: thin stripes, thick stripes, stripes

on an angle, stripes in sets: all combinations of red and white stripes. This epiphany of red and white transformed our family room into a Country Living showplace of Christmas every year.

I believe my pull to life as a perfectionist had its roots here. I painstakingly measured, cut and taped the wrapping paper to showcase my gifts. Many a night I struggled with satin ribbon to create a Christmas treasure. I want this for my home every year.

After I locate the scotch tape, I remember I need to address my Christmas cards. I search for a red pen. Pens are a rare commodity in the Johnson home as they are Sammy’s preferred teething tool. Incredibly, I quickly find a red pen, and sit down to work on my Christmas cards. Soon I am carried away with my Christmas envelope sketch. This year a chubby red angel adorns each envelope with the Johnson’s Christmas message inside.

As I jot notes to friends and family in our card, I remember the abandoned unwrapped Christmas presents. How did I end up working on my Christmas cards?

Orange Slice Scamper Update: Overheard Sammy telling Duncan (the JRT next door) Santa flies in from Florida?

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