Christmas Is Coming!

Christmas is Coming!
By Mary Lou Martin
11/27/07

Christmas is coming and I’ve got to get ready.
The house is a wreck, but I’m not complaining.
The carpets are dirty, and stuff all around,
But surely I’ll clean up before family’s in town.

So, starting right now, this very minute,

I’ll vacuum the floors and dust off the spinet.
Next, I’ll dress up the house for the season,
Make candies and spirited punch within reason.

The thing is I’m sitting here on the couch.
Thinking of cleaning could make me a grouch.
But, it won’t get me down; I’ll get right to the task,
And eagerly clean, carols make the time pass.

All the cleaning and cooking won’t get done overnight.
I’ll pull down the ornaments and Christmas tree light.
It’s quite a big chore I don’t want to quit,
To have my house perfect is a dream I’ll admit.

So, here I go, the task now has started,
Wash all the linens and clean off the carpet.
Put up the tree and string it with pearls,
Hang homemade stockings for my boys and girls.

What a sweet blessing for family to come.
Everyone talks and grandchildren run.
We eat and we laugh, play games and sing songs.
For me it’s a joyous time and no wrongs.

This year I won’t reminisce with regret,
Or sigh because of what I don’t get.
My delight is in watching the smiles and the oh’s,
As my kids unwrap gifts with green and red bows.

Children will shout, I’ll delight in their glee.
I just wish my folks could share it with me.
But now I’ll get ready, I don’t want to be late.
I’ve cleaning to do and cookies to bake.

Is It Christmas Yet?

A truly amazing thing happened this evening. The Martin holiday letter was written and it's not even December yet! Okay, it isn't really a letter. It's more of a quick overview of the high points from our year.

I must admit that I'm pretty impressed with myself. Normally, I might write a letter and it may or may not get mailed. Or, I give up and just sign my name to a traditional card. Then, there are those Christmases when a post card wasn't even sent.

Maybe its the Christmas decorations in the stores, or the cooler temps here in hot old Texas. Still it could just be that I'm excited because all 3 of our boys,their wives and the grandchildren will be here at the same time for Christmas this year...on Christmas Day. Of course,those two cute grandkids really make Christmas a lot of fun too.

No, I'm not going to post my holiday letter here. Christmas cards and holiday computer paper were made for snail-mail. The postal department even sells Christmas stamps just for the season. Besides, I love going to my mailbox and finding a hand addressed envelope with my name on it. So, I figure others might like that too.

Warning, if we are friends or family, chances are you'll receive a holiday note from me in that box that hangs outside somewhere near your house. Check it out, its an attachment anyone can open.

Enjoy the season!

Double-Nickels Day

Yesterday was Kim's 55th birthday. He looks great too, don't you think? That title up there is a term that I only became aware of when I turned 5-5 last August. (Yes, I'm older than my husband.) I've thought it was a clever way to describe that age ever since. We should come up with more of those sayings for birthday milestones like the 5th decade b-day or the half dollar and dime b-day. Okay, I didn't say they'd be great sayings, but it's a start.

Anyway, we had a big family bash last night for Kim. His parents, brother, sister and their spouses come over. Two of our 3 sons were here, a daughter in law and both of our grandchildren. There was even a big, white canine family member in attendance, much to our cat's chagrin. We had a fun, loud house of family talking all at once. My grandson, Aidan, would try to jump into the conversation by yelling that he had something to say. You really have to be fast to get a word in edgewise at a Martin function.

One of Kim's birthday presents from me was a photo DVD that chronicled the many facets of Kim Martin's life. So, early in the week I began perusing my iPhotos, Flickr pics, plus those that I could lift off of the internet on my son's photo page and the Baytown Little Theater website. Next, I began going through our family photographs. There are literally thousands of pictures. So, I had to know what sort of pic I was searching for. It was also fortunate that Kim's mom had given him some albums with pictures of his childhood. Now the video project included baby and adolescent Kim photos. Then, I spent long hours during the day Thursday scanning photographs and setting up the slideshow using iPhotos on my computer. With the addition of what I'd call Kim's signature song, Seventy-six Trombones from the musical The Music Man, as background music, I could finally burn the DVD. (Kim performed in the show as Prof. Harold Hill in high school and again at the BLT.) Pleased with the finished product, I was fairly certain that Kim would enjoy watching his life parade by on the screen for all of 12 minutes. However, it surprised me how much the rest of his family enjoyed it too. I'd not thought about how much they'd like reliving some of the earlier family moments on the DVD. It was a lot of time and effort putting together a video like that, but well worth the pay off in the end.

Here's to the next 50 years of music, love and good times. Happy Birthday, Kim.