Beneath the Wraps

          Roland asked me what I thought about getting a tablet for Jenna for Christmas.           "Do you not even know your child at all?" I wanted to scream at him.   Even if we could afford it, giving a tablet to Jenna would be offensive.   She would interpret the gift to mean: "We don't have time for you.   Here's an electronic device to tie you over" though I'm certain the tables have been turned for some parents.           Jenna and I would like to get rid of the TV.   We watch it because it's there, but she would be a zillion times happier if it wasn't there.   And actually, it's not even on that much.   When Roland gets off work, he likes to relax in front of the boob tube - even if it means vegetating in front of a program that doesn't offer material worth watching for either me or Jenna.   A...

       Jenna and I were just about to pull out of the driveway when she noticed the mail truck come.   She dashed across the street to pick up the mail and I drove into the street and pulled up near the mailbox.   There was a package from Aunt Julie and two cards from the university: one for me and one for Roland.        Jenna was excited about the cards as they included a MadLib - which she was more than anxious to fill out.      She wrote apple, school, marbles, Taylor Swift, chair, mesmerizing, paper, table, comedy, mom, enchanting, soda, chips, grapes, shoe, lawn mower, running, bottle caps and singing.        There were ten sentences.   Half came out humorous.   At least I thought they did.   I will include my own comments after the sentences which I thought were funny. How do YOU celebrate the holidays? Purchase an apple and...

          The first December that I had my blog, I created this post which explains our letters to Jesus.   After a while, I added my thoughts to a journal I take out with the decorations each Christmas season.   The journal had been given to my mom.   I don't even know who it was from - I'm assuming it was left at Christmas time as I recently came across an unsigned Christmas Tag.   Someone had written: "use for personal journal, diaries, notes, recipe, addresses and more."   It was still blank when I retrieved it.      I started journaling in 2013.   As I was reading through some of it this year, I came across the letter I had written to Jesus.                                         ...

          I don’t know how it was that we ended up at Cracker Barrell in 2011.   They have nice gifts and marvelous food, not that we could afford it.   I think we were looking for something unique to send to Roland’s family – particularly his mother.   I ended up finding something for my mother instead.           Mom had a habit of falling asleep on the couch.   The entire time I had lived with her, she was always hot, but after her encounter with dementia, she would always seem to be cold.   I saw the cape as something she could use as a wrap.   It was a red check pattern.   Her favorite color has always been red.   I thought it would be perfect.   Kind of pricey, though.           Kayla said she had purchased a puzzle book for her but had been searching for something to go with it. ...

                "Some cultures believe the ladybug is a symbol of good luck.   Having a ladybug land on you can be a magical moment.   White other insects may pose as a threat to humans, animals and crops alike, ladybugs are harmless and even better: they're beneficial.   That is why so many cultures over the centuries have cherished ladybugs, believing them to bring good luck.   They are good luck to farmers" (Why Are Ladybugs Considered Good Luck?, 2016) "                 My mom and dad had purchased ornaments for their children for each year probably until dad's passing.   I still have many of the ornaments that had been given to me though there had been some that did not make it to my 18th birthday. Adding new ornaments to the tree was a tradition that I had wanted to start with my own family.   F...

            Ever since we have moved into this ward, the folding doors in back of the chapel have been open to allow an overflow - which I haven’t felt was necessary – nevertheless, it has always remained open until today.   The chapel still felt empty – more empty than usual.             The second counselor made the announcement that half of the ward was out sick.   I think it was more than half, and had actually never experienced such a thing before – or at least it had never been that obvious.   The primary was supposed to sing yesterday, but only four members of the primary were in the congregation at that time.   My student wasn’t one of them.             A lot of improv was made – particularly on the part of the primary.   It was announced that the young men and young women would...

                Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were left with the baby Jesus.   Three gifts.   We associate this to mean that there were three wise men, but we don’t actually know the exact number involved.   It’s highly possible that there could have been as many as twenty, possibly more.   There could have been several caravans arriving from many different directions.           In the song “We Three Kings,” we assume that they are from the Orient – which makes sense as it had taken at least two years from the time they began their travel until they reached their destination.   When they finally arrived, they weren’t actually a part of the nativity scene that is often displayed today with the wise men and shepherds attending the same event.   Oh, no.   By the time the Wiseman arrived, Jesus was no longer a newborn sleep...

      At the close of their broadcast, the anchors held up some paddles and asked the audience to play along on "Which holiday movies are fake, which are real?" and would give a title and brief description.   They gave three titles, two of which I'd seen.   I guessed the other was a fake       I think I have seen every holiday movie created by Hallmark, Lifetime and Family (before they changed their name;   I think they're called Forum now - although we discontinued cable before then - so I don't know if they actually went through with it or not) except for the last two years.       Roland gets tired of watching the same movies over and over.   And yet the stations show them over and over.   I've seen all the ones   on Netflix but have watched a few from beginning to end; we have started several but then remember - oh, this one was sappy, didn't care fo...