King Moonraiser is explaining that there is no place for Rudolph and his friends on the Island of Misfit Toys, that they really must return to the land of the living and make a go of it, and my daughter says, "Can you leave this on? I like it in the background."
Bedtime on a snow day a little more than two weeks before Christmas, and the miracle and the magic of the run up to that holy day are tucked in with the sleepy child, the better to dream and feel the peace of the routine of Christmas.
Our snow day gave us the chance to enjoy all of that. Together, Dell and I watched Miracle on 34th Street, The Grinch, and Rudolph and listened to three or four CDs' worth of music. And none of this junked-up contemporary hooey for us. We invoke the dead at Christmas: Burl Ives. Bing. Mitch Miller. There is only one way for the "Little Drummer Boy" to sound (because it is a song about humility, not about Alicia Keyes....). No rock stars here. (OK. Cheryl Crowe, but we don't know who let her in....)
The movies played and we put out the decorations we enjoy the most, wrapped the rest back up for another time, assembled our tried and true white vinyl tree that is the last word in tacky but suits us just fine, and filled out Christmas cards for the people we love. Truthfully, we don't love the same people, so she picked up where I left off, though we didn't exactly plan it. Just that symbiotic mother-daughter thing, maybe.
She wrapped presents for her friends, we went for a long tramp in the snowy woods. She discovered that even large, wild animals pee near trees. This seems to be the walk we take after every first snow, though the discovery of the wild yellow snow was a new thing.
She went out to play with a friend, she held the neighbors' new baby, she came back and made presents for the child and the older sister, who is her friend. We ate dinner and the apple pie I made for her because the stuff was there and she was busy playing.
That was the day that fed the dreams of good sleep. Thank you, Mother Nature.
25 Comments
Sounds like the most perfect of days.
ReplyDeleteFlash Dancing
We have a Snow Emergency!
ReplyDeleteSounds like something straight from the Hallmark Channel. (And I don't mean that in the derisive way I usually would. Once in a while even Hallmark gets good wood on a shot.)
ReplyDeleteIts like a chapter out of Little Women - a happy chapter not one where someone dies or anything
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this lovely snow day, Sandy. Sounds like a dream.
ReplyDeleteMy husband got a permit and cut our tree in the forest. It's scraggly and looks like Charlie Brown's tree. I love it! And all of the old movies. And old music. And old feelings. Where's my hot chocoate? My Toll House cookies? Oh right. I have to make them.
:)
Aren't snow days precious? This sounds like the perfect one.
ReplyDeleteOh what a precious day, and indeed a blessing for all. This is the stuff dreams are made of Sandy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day - a memory forever.
ReplyDeleteI personally didn't like "Miracle" of 1947. Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle just freaked me out! Too much penetrating insight and too little "Ho Ho Ho". And we all know that Santa doesn't have a "veddy propah English accent, doncha know?"
But I still really like your white vinyl tree video!
-Greg
.
sounds peaceful and full of joy day
ReplyDeleteAnd my absolute favorite is Ballad of the Christmas Donkey by Ed Ames...I found it again on You Tube...then by some miracle found the album, still wrapped in store plastic, new never opened at a flea market where I purchased it for one thin dime...I love the old music too...and the invoking of Jesus' name, for it is His Birthday, after all...
ReplyDeletehugs
Sandi
Thank you for sharing this dear day.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed it, Sandy.
Aloha, Friend!
ps: Jingle Bell rock!!!
Comfort Spiral
Sandy: Sounds like you had a full day of Christmas season with the snow.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a beautiful, old-fashioned Christmas treat. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect Christmas-season day to have together! You're so lucky in each other.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
It sounds like a perfect day.. just lovely. I felt like I was there with my own kidlets .. when they were younger. Thanks for that. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a wonderful reprieve in the midst of madness. :) I love the old Christmas things too and Burl Ives has a wonderful voice to sooth. :) Did you save a piece of apple pie for us?
ReplyDeletesnow always will remind me of childhood and my grandparents...
ReplyDeleteI love days like this too. Especially the "back then" movies and music. Thanks for sharing your day. Almost felt like I was there.
ReplyDeleteAh ... 'tis a wonderful life indeed!
ReplyDeleteHugs and blessings,
I forget who said "Snow is God's way of telling us to slow down." Robert Fulghum, maybe? Anyway, this too is a lovely reminder of what a snow day can be, if we take the time to appreciate it. Congratulations on POTW.
ReplyDeleteI'm here via Hilary's blog also.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I particularly like the comment that at Christmas we invoke the dead.
While watching The Year Without a Santa Claus I was telling my husband how bizarre it was to think that all the animators for that were likely long gone. That their last mark on the world was through stop action animation of wax figures, and how that's an absolutely magical concept!
@Greg -- your comment made me laugh loud and long. I never liked the 47 version of Miracle on 34th Street for the same reasons. Kris Kringle spent too much time admonishing little Natalie Wood.
Santa does not admonish or correct! He flies up Chimneys by putting a finger alongside his nose. He lives on a diet of sugar cookies and milk, but is the only fat man not in danger of Type 2! He dwells among toys and reindeer and his MO is Jolly.
Not admonishing. Jolly. Fun. More fun than admonishing and correcting!
Oh how we invoke the dead at Christmas. This is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Congrats on the POTW;)
ReplyDeleteFantastic post! Loved every word. Congratulations on POTW. That Hilary--she sure finds ones that just make the world feel brighter, softer, and more magical.
ReplyDeleteDelightful - gets me all in the mood for Christmas. Thanks Sandy.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on POTW mention, and in case I don't meet you before - have a wonderful Christmas!
Thanks for being here.