Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Flurries



Uh oh. It's December 15th. Once again, as always, I have done virtually nothing in terms of getting ready for the big celebration of solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah. I actually love to send out cards, give gifts but somehow I can't engage with the holiday until it's so close that I feel I have to panic. So from now until Christmas Eve, I imagine I will engage in a flurry of seasonal activity.

flur·ries
1. A brief, light snowfall.
2.a. A sudden gust of wind. b. A stirring mass, as of leaves or dust; a shower.
3. A sudden burst or commotion; a stir: a flurry of interest in the new product; a flurry of activity when the plane landed.
4. A short period of active trading, as on a stock exchange.


Speaking of flurries, I've been asked out on dates lately - twice - by two different men. I have not been asked out on a date literally in years, so this is a pretty exciting development. Sadly I'm not interested in dating either one, but I'm flabbergasted to be approached twice in the space of a couple of weeks. A flurry of date invitations. Hmmmm.

Flurries of remembered dreams are a part of this moment in time as well. Two nights ago I dreamed I had a flurry of dogs - 2 dachshunds named Jet and Jetta, and a Boston terrier named Roxie. When I woke up I was kind of sad to realize I didn't have a flurry of sweet little dogs. Oh well.

Right now I need to get into a serious flurry of housecleaning, then hurry into a flurry of Christmas card writing. Tonight? A flurry of latkes. It's a theme, isn't it? Oh yeah.

21 comments:

The Bug said...

I like flurries - they imply a little burst of not too overwhelming excitement. My husband usually starts thinking about gifts & such around this time of year. It's our 19th anniversary today - perhaps he has to wait until that's done? Nah - he's just a procrastinator of the first order!

Reya Mellicker said...

I don't think of my behavior as procrastination, though maybe that's a rationalization. In fact there's nothing more fun (for me) than going shopping on Christmas Eve. I kind of like the mayhem.

Solstice is the 21st, Christmas is the 25th. Even though I launch into a flurry, to me it's not about getting into the game late.

Rationalization? Hmmm ... doesn't doesn't feel that way to me.

JC said...

We had a bit of snow on Sunday & Monday but nothing that sticked. Just a touch of white ..

** please help me find a home for the boys .. stop by my blog and mention them on yours **

Barry said...

Nice to know there are at least two men in Washington with good taste Reya.

And that bottom photo is just stunning!

Mrsupole said...

Flurries sound wonderful, just like little bursts of energy filled with lots of activities. Maybe it gives one the same feeling as runner's high. The adrenaline pumping, the brain working beyond it's normal capacity. Oh yeah, I love it.

There is something to be said for shopping on Christmas Eve, just for the people watching alone, the frantic frenzy everyone seems to be in, seeing the panic in their eyes, listening to them talking to theirselves. For years I would make it a point to go shopping on that day because it seems to be the day with the most fun in shopping.

I love to interact with people and have found that many people need someone's opinion about 'if that is a good gift or not', especially the men. So I have always just loved helping everyone on that day, and the last minute specials are great.

But alas, this year I am boycotting Christmas gift giving for just about everyone except my mom and the three youngest grandkids, so I will probably stay home. So far this has been good for my blood pressure and the older grandkids have now accepted that Grandma and Grandpa are not going to go crazy with gift giving and have turned into Scrooges. But they are getting our left over Halloween candy, so all is not a total loss. Even though they have eaten most of it already.

As to why I am boycotting the gift giving, I am sick of companies putting out Christmas displays and advertisements earlier and earlier each year. If they keep going at the rate started a few years ago, then the advertisements for Christmas will begin the day after Christmas, and I know the companies would like us to shop everyday like it is the Christmas season, but I think the focus for Christmas needs to change.

We should not be focused on giving gifts and trying to out do others in their gift giving, but we should be focused on the giving of ourselves and doing things to help others in need. We should give the gift of time to others. Time to have a conversation, time to listen and hear how friends, family, and acquaintences are feeling and how things in their lives are going. We should give others the gift of a hug to let them know they are loved.

Giving things is the easy way to go, giving of yourself, well that takes effort. So I will smile and say "Hi" to those I meet, I will hug those I know, I will laugh and share a few moments of my time with them. I hope to have a frenzy of this type of activity in the next week and then carry this over into the next year. This is one gift that can keep on giving.

God bless.

Rosaria Williams said...

Oh go ahead and have yourself a flurry of dates. What's the harm? Dates are just stops into or out of friendships. Friendships need time, need patience, need paying attention. So, if someone is willing to pay attention to you, be happy. It's a good sign.

ellen abbott said...

Personally, I think the flurry of possible dates is the result or fruit of the change in your personal fairy tale. Remember? The one about you not being good at relationships?

And for the first time in I don't know how many years, I am done, have been done with the few gifts I do give during this season. Feels really great. I'm usually out there at the last minute.

Nancy said...

Maybe our Roxie wants to come back and be a Boston Terrier and live with you.

Reya Mellicker said...

I love the name Roxie - maybe so, Nancy! Who knows?

Gift giving is fun unless it's an obligation and then it's awful. I think this time of year is about remembering the people we love and connecting with them. I never give "big" gifts, but I do like to bestow tokens of my affection.

Ellen, I believe you are right! Wow. Thanks for connecting the dots.

As for these two guys they are nice but I'm not interested in dating them. Still I am VERY GLAD they asked! And I do see it as a good sign - of something !

Steve Reed said...

Whether or not you like the guys, it's terrific just to be asked, isn't it?! :)

It's cool that you feed off the holiday energy, which reaches a crescendo just before Christmas. I'm just the opposite -- I get everything done early so I can AVOID the tumult!

Reya Mellicker said...

I love the word "tumult."

Ronda Laveen said...

Most of my clients I talk to are having a hard time hitting the holidays. Seems a little more laid back to me this year. I know I am reacting sedately.

Hmmm, men and dogs in your future? Who said that first? Soon the one you are interested in dating will appear. I feel it in me ol' bones.

Barbara Martin said...

My seasonal cards haven't gone out either, but I had planned on doing them tomorrow on the new moon.

Dreams are messages from the angels.

Reya Mellicker said...

OK, Ronda, if you say so. I'm open to it. And, I, too, love saying, "WHO SAID IT FIRST?"

Reya Mellicker said...

OK, Ronda, if you say so. I'm open to it. And, I, too, love saying, "WHO SAID IT FIRST?"

Reya Mellicker said...

I only pressed the PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT button once! Really!

Ronda Laveen said...

An etheric affirmation! YES!

Mrsupole said...

Hi Reya,

I went back to the look at the "Shhhhhhh" post to see if I still saw the winter fairies and OMG I saw a picture of Jake's head in it. The largest of the winter fairies is standing right above his head and he is smiling. I think that the fairies are showing that they are watching after him. And Jake is smiling like he wants us to know he is happy.

I hope you can see it. It is actually wonderful to see. I think that if you do not see it right away, you will see it soon. And when you do, I hope it will make you as happy as I was when I saw it. I am still amazed at what I can see in that picture.

I hope I am not the only one who sees this and I hope others will comment if they do too.

God bless.

Mrsupole said...

His nose is in the bottom middle of the leaf and the smile is part of the leaf. Then you see the ears. Okay, I should just let you find him, but a little help is always good.

I am not sure if that is what the others see as a wolf, but due to the shape of the ears flopping down instead of standing up, it does not look like a wolf to me.

God bless.

Reya Mellicker said...

Ronda, yes and yes!

Bee said...

We've had snow flurries today . . . and also a great big baking flurry.

I always like to "get Xmas prep out of the way early" . . . but I put that thought into quotation marks because it makes me aware that I regard it as a bit of a chore. Perhaps it is nicer to feel enveloped in the season?

And maybe the third ASK will prove to be the right one.