things i can count on

Ooh, artistic.
Originally uploaded by alisoninaz.

December, though often chaotic and hectic, brings stability. There are things, people, experiences I can always count on in December and there's nothing finer than knowing that.

My mother will always, always make several dozen pounds of fudge between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's never enough because people always want to be on her special Fudge Love list.

There will always be handmade caramels from Clasen's in my stocking.

Mom and Dad will be generous to a fault, allowing me free reign of the vehicles and house, picking up the gas tab, understanding when I am constantly dashing out the door. They will shower me with so much love and so many gifts, it's almost embarrassing. I will always feel grateful for them.

My Christmas Eve will always be spent in Milwaukee with my mom's family. There will always be polish and beef and potatoes and lots of bad for me food to eat. There will be gifts of cash and robes slipped to me surreptitiously by my aunties. There will always be cheek kisses and lots of pictures and many, many hugs.

The Christmas Eve service at my church will always be warm, inviting, and one of the highlights of my whole year. It rarely changes. There will always be tingles when the lights are dimmed, the congregants light their candles, and we sing Silent Night. Sometimes, there will be best friends in attendance, sometimes, I will be there alone. Either way, I will always be glad for the company.

There will always be Christmas brunch with my parents, featuring some of the finest food available anywhere, made by my mom.

There will always be a Christmas Day celebration with my dad's family, replete with merriment.

There will always be several nights of boozin' and gossipin' with my friends. There will always be the moment of "ah! I haven't seen you in ages and I am so glad to be holding you now and looking in your eyes and matching your voice to you, instead of matching your phone voice, the only connection I have to you most of the year, to you. I am so glad to be your friend" when we are first reunited.

There will always be a fun tiff at which the rest of us can laugh and talk about later. This year's featured Mel and Kelly at Fyfe's. JOY TO THE WORLD!

There will always be a strangely unsettling feeling about being around so many loved ones at one time, after being apart for so long. This feeling will always, always be welcome.

There will always be the grey purple sky of winter in Wisconsin. Always.

There will always be snow on the ground, and sometimes actual snowfall, and the grey nasty piles on the side of the road. There will always be salt rings on the bottom of too long pants.

There will always be a day after Christmas meal with Grandma and the other kids in town. There will always be Christmas money slipped to us at the end of the meal, with a wink and a smile. She will always pick up the bill, and we will always be glad for her company and generosity.

There will always be laughter in copious amounts.

There will always be some tearful phone calls, some adjustment period when all of this comes to bear on our lives. That's okay.

Most of all, there will always be love in December, standing in as a symbol for the love shared, but not always expressed, the rest of the year among family.