Category Holidays
It’s Complicated
Son came to us when he was eight years old. We adopted him from foster care. A feral youth, he knew nothing of personal hygiene, was illiterate, spoke inarticulately, had rotten teeth and suffered from severe ADHD. He’d been horribly neglected. The school he’d been attending wrote him off and considered him unteachable. Despite this, […]
Change
I took the above picture this morning as I went on my morning walk. Only a few weeks ago, the mountains were decorated in orange, red and rust hues. Now, they’re just brown and bare. The lake still has its usual population of waterfowl, including geese, ducks and swans (they always class up any body […]
Spring Awakening
Today is Easter, the holiday where The Lord is awaken from the dead. Spring also began just a couple of weeks ago, and, like the holy day, nature celebrates its rebirth from a long sleep. The trees and plants that seemed to die last year have once again come to life. Their beauty is something […]
So This Is The New Year
After the fiasco that wound up being Christmas, I looked forward to celebrating the New Year with my sister at her home. Sure, it’s two hours away but we’re both isolated. My car hasn’t toted me across the state line since February and I was itching to explore past its borders. I had the week […]
Grinch Christmas
The call came Monday morning, just as I sat down at my kitchen table to work. My hairdresser informed me that someone who was present when I was in her chair tested positive for COVID-19. I felt panic seize my chest and immediately broke out in hysterics. I clearly remember that woman, who stopped to […]
Winter Wonder Land
It snowed here last week and I still can’t get used to the sight of it. Which is strange, because in earlier years, we’d have tons of it by now. But over the past ten years it seems that the white blanket that began to coat the hills and valleys has stopped, to be replaced […]
Sometime Last Year…
Last year, I came into work at Phipps the Sunday after Black Friday. For reasons not quite understood, I had Black Friday and Saturday off. Still, I didn’t complain. It’d been my first holiday off in God knows how long. On my way from the time clock to the Holiday Department, my boss stopped me. […]
‘Tis The Season
I chose the above illustration today because it accurately reflects the intersection of two holidays: Christmas and Halloween. See, the guy in the upper part of the illustration is dressed up as an ET/alien/offworld creature pretending to be Santa. Or is it the other way around? As shopper desperately scrounged around the remains of Toy […]
Courage In The Line Of Defense
Evil monster known to attack trick-or-treaters on a specific day of the year. Another day, another holiday at Phipps. Each one pretty much goes the same. We set the department month before any given holiday, people complain it’s too soon to put up [fill in the blank] decorations or purchase items for [fill in the […]
Candy Conundrum
Ah, Easter! That lovely springtime holiday/holy day that evokes images of bunnies and chicks and tulips! What kid doesn’t look forward to receiving a basket loaded up with candy or searching for eggs containing stickers and jelly beans? Or getting all sugared up so it’s impossible for Junior to sit down to Easter brunch or […]
Confessions of A Middle-Age Woman 