– Random Writings: Column by Rebecca Lindquist – - It’s time to prioritize

– Random Writings: Column by Rebecca Lindquist –

As I took down holiday decorations, I couldn’t help reflecting on this year’s festivities. I was in no way prepared for Christmas and was actually dreading it somewhat, if I’m being completely honest.

I was unprepared for everything. I didn’t get a single Christmas card mailed out, I didn’t have time to leisurely put the tree up or decorate it, nor did I purchase several of the gifts I had planned on giving.

It’s not like Christmas isn’t on the same date every single year, either. It simply crept up on me, catching me unaware.

My daughter, Hannah, and her fiancé, Steve, had volunteered to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we celebrated the weekend before. Some of the stress was taken off, by ordering takeout pizza.

Han brought a vegetable tray and dip, and I made a Jell-O salad. It was a very low-key meal, but filling and delicious.

My anxiety was further relieved, when the kids arrived early and graciously decorated my Christmas tree, which I managed to hastily put up the night before.

Once my sister, Ginna, arrived, we ate and then cleared the dining room table off in preparation for an afternoon of board games. Hannah grabbed the boxes of leftover pizza and put them in the refrigerator; in doing so, she knocked out a cottage cheese container half full of baby carrots in water. Carrots and water flew EVERWHERE. It looked like a water main had burst.

Hannah looked at me and asked if I wanted her to put the carrots back in the refrigerator. (Absolutely! I adore gritty, dirt-covered floor carrots.) We picked all the carrots up and I washed them thoroughly a few times, before placing them in a clean container, since I’m pretty sure the last time I scrubbed the kitchen floor was after Thanksgiving, when a turkey Banquet meal took a nose-dive out of the freezer, with vegetables flying every which way.

We spent a fun afternoon playing Sixem and Yahtzee. At one point, I was in the other room, so I missed the “floor show,” when Steve was trying to edge past Hannah’s chair to return to his seat. Han had placed her water glass on the hutch ledge behind her.

There’s minimal maneuvering room, as it is, and Steve sideswiped the glass with his rear end, knocking it onto the carpeted dining room floor. I’m told a geyser of water shot toward the ceiling in an impressive arc.

We stopped to open gifts, then resumed playing games, until Ginna had to leave to cover an activity for the newspaper. Once she returned, it was time for a meal again. We ate leftovers and were re-energized to play games once more. Ginna took the leftover pizza boxes to put in the refrigerator. I was standing at the kitchen sink and heard a loud clatter.

Ginna had a sheepish look on her face. She had knocked a bowl, containing two eggs, out onto the floor. Fortunately, the eggs were boiled.

There’s a reason why I can’t have nice things. We couldn’t stop laughing. I bet my house just shudders whenever there is a function where food is involved.

Afterward, I realized no one cared that my house wasn’t spotless or that I didn’t serve a gourmet meal. We simply had a fun, old-fashioned, albeit a bit unconventional, gathering. It made me realize what is more important.

Now that I have my priorities in order, I can’t wait to celebrate this year, though I think I’ll opt for a less cluttered refrigerator.