Thursday, December 27, 2012

A Different Christmas

It's a good thing we don't really celebrate Christmas the way we used to.  Once upon a time, when the kids were little, we did all the traditional things--big Xmas tree, big Xmas dinner, lots of gifts under the tree, and so on.
Then things changed over the years, and eventually we went from fake tree to no tree at all.  No special dinner.  No gifts.  Instead, we moved the feast to Epiphany, January 6th, celebrating the visit of the Magi to the Holy Family.  Gifts were woven into a couple of games, but no one was allowed to give us (my husband and me) anything.  Brunch instead of dinner.
For the past couple of years, some friends of ours have invited us to have turkey dinner at their home.  This year, that happened again.  But there were differences.
First of all, and most important, our son Ken was not here.  Usually he decorated his suite with little houses and trains, making a quaint village, decked with Xmas lights.  Even our Epiphany brunch, which we have yet to have, will be different because Ken is no longer with us.  He always brought gifts for everyone--especially the kids.  We'll miss him terribly this Epiphany.
Another difference: We haven't had a Xmas tree for at least six years.  This year, I went and bought a box purporting to contain a 4' tree.  I got it home and found it was marked "porch" and contained not one but TWO trees!  So one is in the small foyer and the other is in the sitting room.  They have white lights woven in the branches.  Quite pretty, but very simple.  Ken would have loved them, and would have had the foyer tree in his suite.
The third difference: My husband and I haven't exchanged gifts for many years.  This year, he gave me one.  He left it on the table in front of the Advent candles, and about 10 am Xmas day I finally noticed the gaily wrapped parcel.  It looked like a box of chocolates.  It had my name on it, from "The Magi".  I don't eat chocolate, so I thought maybe it was a box of candies.  Or a framed picture of the family.  No, it was exactly what I'd been voicing my desire for--a Kobo Glo. 
Not being very computer savvy, it took me several hours to get it set up, but I still have trouble using it.  I'm sure it's very simple once I get the hang of it.  But tomorrow I'm going to take it to the shop where he bought it and get the clerks there to explain why it isn't doing what I want.  My main problem is that all the instructions on the tablet are in Portuguese!!!  Go figure!
I've bought one book and loaded it on the Kobo, now I'd like to read it. 
The book?  It's called The Giver, by Lois Lowry (I think).  A young adult fantasy novel.