Join Diane, MotherOwl, Mimi, Merry Mae and me as we take on this timely topic. You can leave your poem here in the comments, or you can post on your own blog; if the latter, please leave a comment so we can find you and your poem. Use the topic, or not; the idea is to have fun and
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At the Donkey household, we celebrate Christmas with all its accompanying pressures and joys. We exchange gifts with a circle of close relatives, we are the cooks for the family Christmas dinner, and we put up a Christmas tree ....... so that means shopping, cooking, cleaning and decorating.
It is lovely.
And it can get hairy. (No pun intended, although -- as you will see in a moment -- the pun would not go astray ...)
Every year I have the same mental picture of how Christmas will be.
I will make five kinds of cookies and two kinds of pies, I will mail my cards before the deadline, I will find novel and elegant but practical gifts for everyone, I will handcraft new tree ornaments, I will have a sparkling-clean and handsomely decorated home, and I will serve Christmas dinner in a festive yet classy outfit.
In reality, I consider myself lucky if I am not in a store somewhere at closing time on Christmas Eve, if I have remembered to buy pies never mind making them, if I get any cards sent before New Year's Day, if the cats allow the tree to remain upright, if there is no cat hair on the tablecloth, and if I have time to change out of my work T-shirt before company arrives for Christmas dinner.
Can I work this into a nifty Poetry Monday offering?
Hah!! You betcha :)
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It's Not As If The Date Changes Every Year, Is It??
The season is upon us and I visualize that everything will be perfection
Gifts will be wrapped and ready by October and I will personally bake every confection
The cats will magically stop shedding two weeks before company comes for dinner
And I will clean from attic to basement so thoroughly I will end up ten pounds thinner
I will do so much ahead of time that on the special day I will not break a sweat
The Christmas tree will be a vision of loveliness, and so will I! ...... and yet .....
The day will be upon us and nothing about it will even approach the edge of perfection
Gifts will only just be wrapped before they are unwrapped and I'll have bought every confection
The cats will shed ten pounds of fur in the two minutes before company comes for dinner
And I'll be stress-eating and as you know that's no way to get thinner
I will be running like a mad thing around the kitchen as I break into a sweat
And the Christmas tree will wear the same ornaments we have used for forty years ..... and yet .....
Somehow, it all gets done
Somehow, we all have fun
Somehow, we're all well fed
Somehow, I've not dropped dead
Somehow, the gifts are fine
And the memories?
Oh, the memories are sublime 💟
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For non-cat-lovers, this is the rear view of a cat |
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I really think we need a few more Christmas funnies.
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I cannot lie; this is my favourite today |
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What do you know, it's another rear view of a cat! |
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Cat owners all know what "harked" means . . . |
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Whatever "this time of year" means for you, I hope it is full of hope and peace, good things to eat, and time with those you hold dear.
Next week's topic will be ... NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ...
Good luck!
Love the funnies - and winced at hark. I am all toO familiar with that one (often in the very small hours).
ReplyDeleteLoved your poem and hope/expect that this year's memories will be traditionalist and SUBLIME.
Yes, let us hope that our respective cats do not leave us a harked gift this season :)
DeleteI'm thinking the memories maybe especially good this year. The grandsons are coming for a visit :)
"pummel our brains into mush"? Mine is already there.
ReplyDeleteI love your poem and the funnies.
Merry Christmas.
Haha! My brain feels mushy, too :)
DeleteThanks, River - the same to you.
That's a really clever poem, well done, and love the Christmas cats.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrew; glad you like the cats :)
DeleteWe don't usually do much for Christmas, but this year Zsuzs' mom has invited us for Christmas dinner, and outside there's snow on the ground, so it seems kinda Christmas-y.
ReplyDeleteYour poem very much reminds me of Christmases with my parents, before we moved away to Oakland.
-Doug in Sugar Pine
Sounds like you'll have some new Christmas memories when the holidays come to a close, Doug!
DeleteSomehow it all gets done. And where and when you found the time to do it all?? Poem and pictures are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI like reading about others preparing as we don't do much.
But I can imagine what it would be like.
https://nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing.blogspot.com/2019/12/poetry-monday-this-time-of-year.html
In a way I'm glad we host the Christmas dinner because otherwise I can see me saying "let's just not bother this year"!
DeleteEverything you wrote is so true and good to be philosophical about it all. Warmest wishes for a lovely Christmas. Sue xxx
ReplyDeleteYou can only do what you can do, right? :)
DeleteThanks, Sue, and best wishes to you too!
I can relate to your poem. You said it so well. Somehow it all gets done. Merry Christmas, Jenny.
ReplyDeleteThe best laid plans . . . :) Merry Christmas to you too, Marie, and to your family.
DeleteI enjoyed reading your thoughts on Christmas and it is oh so true.
ReplyDeleteDreams of a perfect Christmas and the reality of it, lol. What's the point of a perfect Christmas when there wouldn't be any interesting 'clangers' for family and friends to talk and laugh about it in years to come? Perfect is boring, reality is so much better, don't you think?
My short poem is one I wrote for a Christmas card to my niece who has four young children.
Christmas Eve is a busy time,
For Santa, reindeer and elves.
All Christmas presents lovingly made,
Have been brought down from the shelves.
Santa has checked his route,
That he travels every year.
Certain that the stars are bright,
Helping Rudolph's way to be clear.
The reindeer are all ready,
As Santa climbs into the sleigh.
He waves to the elves, "Ho-Ho-Ho!"
Then - W-H-O-O-S-H - he's on his way.
Enjoy your Christmas Jenny and make the most of those boys which I'm sure you will.
Thank you Joan, and have a lovely holiday! It's so good to "talk" to you again; thanks for bringing a poem with you!
Delete(I agree about perfect being boring, too - it's true!)
Happy Holidays and yes, the dates change for Hanukkah.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you, e. I think I knew that about Hanukkah, but I was also thinking that my post was so Christmas oriented the title would be clear - maybe not! I remember a friend one year saying in exasperation about HER rushing around, that it's not like we don't know when Christmas is scheduled for . . . and that's what prompted it :O)
DeleteHa! Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteAnd those funnies are absolutely delightful! Always leave your blog with a huge smile on my face! Thanks! I needed that! :)
I'm glad, Diane! Happy Holidays, O Rhyming One!
DeleteYour poem is spot on, and your funnies are just what the doctor ordered on "The Night Before Right Before The Night Before Christmas", which is a real song!
ReplyDeleteHah! I'll have to find it on the internet! I love the title, at least!
DeleteChristmas Ninja.......I love that.
ReplyDeleteCats are really just furry ninjas anyway, aren't they? :)
DeleteLet me explain..............................
ReplyDeleteYes??? We are waiting for that explanation, Joanne - better make it a good one if you want Santa to visit!
DeleteBrilliant! You capture the whole truth in that poem.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least it's MY whole truth, ha ha!
DeleteLoved your poem and all the funnies. I can relate, but somehow we all survive Christmas and I'm sure you will again this year. Happy Holidays to you!
ReplyDeleteSame to you and yours, Joey!
DeleteHAHA! I have the same visions of how I'll handle Christmas. Reality is a whole different story :) Surprisingly enough, I was a lot more organized when the kids were young and I worked full time. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays to you and yours!
I think we all had more energy back then, Martha! That's my story, anyway :)
DeleteI so loved your poem. Well done. The 'funnies' were great, too. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2020.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and the same to you :)
DeleteMerry Christmas, and thank you for the LOLZ, both in your poem and with the kittehs. You're right, no matter how things go stressfully wrong, it usually turns out fine in the end. I figure as long as everybody ends up with a full belly and no food poisoning, the event is a success. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNow that's a definition of success I can live with! So far, so good, fingers crossed, lol
DeleteHope you had a great Christmas, Diane!
Thanks, I did! No food poisoning either (that I know of, but maybe my guests were too tactful to tell me). ;-)
Deletelol :)
DeleteHilarious! Thank you jenny!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed them, Jono :)
DeleteLoved the Christmas cat and dog memes. Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, too!
Deletewow you made me feel almost there around you at this time of the year lol
ReplyDeletehow masterly you painted the whole scenario and all the possibilities :)
and at the end somehow all went great oh i just LOVED it !!!!!!!!!
this is what matter most "all is well if end is well right :)
and memories are the treasure we extract from such events and hold within for lifetime :)))
Fantastically done indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i really hope that you had great fun at Christmas with your loved one and created more beautiful memories dear friend:)
may you see many more with loved ones ,amen!
"Memories are the treasure we extract from such events and hold within for lifetime" - so true and so well said, baili - you always know how to get to the heart of the message :)
DeleteThank you for your kind wishes!