Merry Christmas (Again?)

I love Christmas.  I love Christmas caroles.  I love Christmas decorations.  Everything.  Every year I look forward to Christmas with giddy anticipation.  I distinctly recall last year on Christmas night going to bed and feeling disappointed that I would have to wait a whole year until it was Christmas again.  That feels like yesterday.  Last year went by in a fastforward flash.  For all of December, I have been surprised by the date.  How can it be December already.  I felt the same way for November and October--it just didn't feel like they could already be here.  I went on vacation in August and I felt like I missed the whole month.  It felt like it should be June when I was in Michigan and I was surprised that it was August.  May crept up on me--I remember wondering at the speed the year was passing by.

So the whole year I have been trying to figure out why time is going by sooo fast.  I don't belong to very many organizations anymore and maybe I am missing the mile stones that defined my life before.  I watch the twins just about every friday night into saturday these days.  When I have the kids over, my time is very full--no time to rest--if we are not running and going, we are watching a movie to go to sleep.  I really like the rugrat movies--the scary parts are not very scary and the dynamics between the characters keeps my interest while the poopie stuff delights the kids, but I digress.

I'm very busy at work.  That has to contribute to the speed of time.  The other day, I sat down to work on a brief right after lunch.  I was so engroused in the project that when someone poked their head in to ask me a question, I was shocked to see that it was 7 p.m.  And I have a very long commute whether I'm driving or taking the train.  On the train, I try to read my book (I've been reading series this year--first a romance series that had about 16 books to it--so wonderful to have a poliferation to read and now the Grafton alphabet books.  That is interesting--some of these were written in the 80's and 90's before cell phones.  It is really funny to hear the gyrations that Kinsey goes through to find a pay phone.  But I digress or maybe not.) 

Reading has been so much easier to do with my ipad and just ordering books online.  I always have a really good book to read and it is with me always. When Adam came for a visit last spring, he stayed in my room with my tv at the Glendale house.  I barely missed the tv, because I had my book.  I was almost happier to read than watch tv.  Tv is still the stronger habit and it gets turned on whenever I enter a room the tv is in.  There really is so little to watch however.  Except this year channel 13 played old episodes of "The Closer"  two episodes every Saturday night.  That has been an awesome way to unwind after taking the kids home on Saturday night.  And then there is Amazing Race on Sunday.  I never miss it.  I heard a quote about missing your fake friends on tv.  "Fake friends on tv."  I love my fake friends on tv.  I have to fast forward through "Burn Notice" though.  As much as I enjoy it, it got rather intense this year.  They have started reruns on channel 13.  I'm enjoying that. 

So kids, work, reading, tv, commute.  Time is going so very fast.  And then there is the 50 million years thing.  Dad told me that there was a cave in the south of France in which they found evidence of a population of people who lived in a cave for 50 million years.  50 million years divided by the average lifespan if we assume that puberty hit around 12 to 15 years old and the oldest people lived to be about 30.  That's almost 2 million generations of people who never thought to go outside.  Their cave was just fine.  All their needs were met in the cave.  For fifty million years.  I think have a boggled mind speeds up time.  It's just a theory.

High Heels and A-Line Skirt

When Marisa was six and Melody was seven, I was their girl scout leader.  They were Brownies--adorable and cute and little.  I had to keep reminding myself that some were in first grade and couldn't read and write yet.  Anyway, Brownies didn't usually go on overnight camping trips, but older Brownies can and the other leaders in town needed more kids to make up the camping trip numbers, so I was strongly encouraged to get my kids ready for a summer camping trip. 

You don't just start out camping--you build up to it.  So first, at one meeting we looked outside of our meeting place (we went outside to play a game--the girls always liked red light, green light the best).  Then at another meeting we took a walk around the block (literally--there was a liquor store that I used as our pit stop to buy water and rest).  The next step was go on a hike.  I did a little research (asked two people) and found out that there was a trail above Brand park.  Brand park is right by my house, so car pooling wasn't necessary--we could just meet there.  Ha, simple.  But I thought (being a very responsible leader) that I should check the trail out to make sure that it was not too difficult for first and second graders (and as it turned out, me--much younger than I am today, but not exactly athletic by any stretch of the imagination or squinting of the eye).

At first, I had plenty of time, so I would tell myself, I'll check out the trail next weekend and then I never got around to it.  Then it was the week of and on Monday, Tuesday, Wendesday and Thursday, I thought, I'll do it tomorrow.  Finally it was Friday and the hike was the following morning.  I couldn't get out of work early, and it was getting late, so I didn't have time to go to change out of my work clothes which that day was a skirt suit (a-line skirt) and high heels.  [Yes, I actually used to wear high heels into work--at the time I thought of them as the attorney uniform.  I have evolved since then immensely, but I digress.]  As I parked the car, I was concerned that it was getting late and I worried that my dinner was going to be too late--did I really have enough time to hike up the mountain.  I didn't like to eat too late, which I did a lot, so you can understand my concern.  [Meanwhile, I weight a lot more today than I did then, so there you go--it was a good thing to worry about.]

At first I had trouble figuring out the entrance to the trail, but then I saw two guys start up the trail and I realized that was the entrance.  The two fellows looked like guys you would see at a bar--not the sort you ask for directions or necessarily want to follow up a mountain, but I kind of burned those bridges by waiting until the last possible day to check out the trail.  So I cursed my luck (or lack thereof) and at a reasonable distance, followed them up the trail.

At first the trail, while steep, had very wide wood planks that acted like stairs.  I was careful not to catch my spike heel in the boards and I had to walk sideways, but it was doable.  Some "stairs" were pretty high and my a-line skirt was not designed for hiking, but I reasoned that if I could climb the trail in high heels and a skirt, then first and second graders would be able to handle it, no problem.  So I'm climbing and climbing.  At one point there was a lot of errosion on the main part of the trail and I had to walk on the grass edge.  My heels sunk into the grass, so I kind of had to walk tippy toes on that part and it was pretty steep, but I made it ok.  Certainly the girls could do this.

After a little while I came to a clearing and I turned around and saw the most beautiful sunset that I had seen in ages.  I loved sunsets and I stopped and drank in the beauty.  Why hadn't I ever come here before--what a gorgeous sight up the hill, with the sun going down.  I just stood and watched as the realization washed over me...the sun is going down....I am up the hill....with pyscho beer belly guys....in high heels and an a-line skirt in the darkening twilight.

Yes, I was down that hill in no time flat--it was much faster down.  I had no idea that I was so skilled at running down a steep hill in high heels and an a-line skirt.

P.S.  The next morning the girls scampered up the trail, no problem--although at one point one little girl said, "gee, my daddy never lets us go on this part of the trail, because he says it is too dangerous."  I looked a little closer and realized that there was a very steep ridge next to the trail.  So like a crossing guard I raised out my arms like guard rails and yelled "single file" as we passed that area of the trail.  You miss stuff like that in the dark and what you think is bad luck is really extreme good luck (that I didn't fall off that mountain in my high heels and a-line skirt).