.....i just had to put that in because i think its lovely and it sets the Christmas spirit which i have to say seems to be beginning to boil up a little bit here in the South of England and more so in our home.... the flat is decorated, the tree is up and the lights sparkle and tinkle and make the girls smile...the advent calendars are nearly all open as each days brings them closer to the time when all those parcels under the tree, that took me so long to wrap, will be ripped open and the joy and pleasure on my lil ones faces will make all the effort worth while.
Looks like Master will get a few days holiday as well..as his meany boss has conceded and is to close up shop for a few days over the festive season..so we will have some time together which will be really good as at one point we even thought he might have to work right over the whole Christmas period.
But this evening, i am alone, the kids are at their fathers, MG is at work and here i sit, in a drafty flat, the only sound is the wind howling around outside as the weather has turned somewhat into the winter that we knew would arrive, pouring rain, howling winds and not a spec of snow.... oh for some snow at Christmas....
In my childhood, we always had snow at Christmas time, it was what made the season what we have all come to expect, but no more, what with global warming and the shift in the weather patterns around the world, snow in the UK and even more so in the south is rare. My youngest at 10 years old, has seen snow once in her lifetime and that didn't last more than a few hours before it turned to slush.
Those friends we have in the states, tell us of mountains 4, 5, 6 feet deep and complain of how it also disrupts their way of life, of digging out cars and bad road conditions so i guess that i really shouldn't complain as really, it has been proven time and time again that the grass isn't greener or the snow any whiter on the other side of the fence.
We have what we have, we are what we are and we should all be grateful for what we are given in life and stop with the moans and groans about what others may have that we might desire because at the end of the day our grass or snow is just that, ours and we should be happy with what we have.
That also applies to our lives, making the most of what we have, not bemoaning about what we do not have. i of course am as bad as the next, i wail and moan about how little time i have with MG or how cold it is or how much i miss our one on one time and yet, as i am sure i have said before, i should count myself lucky that i have a master who adores me, two fine and healthy children, a roof over my head, food in my belly.... there are so many who are far worse off then i, in many aspects of their lives, how can i complain really...!!!
My Christmas will be one that may not be as grand or as indulgent as some but i am sure it will be a vast improvement on that of another Mother and children in some remote , far off corner of the world and i do consider myself to be lucky in that i do have these things that many wont be seeing this year.
- Take joy and happiness in what you have that makes your life what it is
- Don't waste your time wishing for the things you do not have.
- Remember, somewhere, someone has even less than you.
A Merry Christmas to you all, may your festive season be all you hope it will be.
* There is much reference the the correct spelling of the reindeer named... Donder/Donner therefore to save confusion and for those who may be interested in why i have spelt it as i have, i include this foot note.
What are the names of Santa's reindeer?
The question of spelling regarding Donner/Donder. The reference is to "Thunder and Lightning" ergo, Donner und Blitzen (in German). Donder en Bliksem (in Dutch)
Since Clement Clarke Moore wrote 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' with reference to Dutch literature according to http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa121097.htm, the correct spelling is most likely Donder and Bliksem and not Donner and Bliksen.
Authors and businessmen are at the bottom of Santa’s ungulate fixation. Washington Irving’s “A History of New York” had Saint Nicolas riding on a horse with a wagon. Fifteen years later, in 1821, a poem called "Santeclaus" provided the jolly one with a sleigh drawn by a single reindeer. The venerable “The Night Before Christmas” added depth to his reindeers by giving them names,"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!", and describing the way in which Saint Nicholas (who was an elf at this point hence the miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer) shimmies out of houses. And -- no joke -- a controversy still exists as to whether “Donner” or “Donder” is the true name of the seventh reindeer. (Senator Robert J. Dole (R-Kansas) allegedly called for an investigation on this extremely critical issue.)
So it was. For over a hundred years, Santa had eight reindeers. Then, in 1939, a Chicago-based chain of department stores (Montgomery Wards)gave him a ninth. The company asked one of their copywriters to write a Christmas story as a promotional gimmick. Robert L. May’s Rudolph was not actually the offspring or even a distant cousin of Santa’s existing reindeer, he was from an “ordinary” reindeer village outside of the North Pole (read: wrong side of the tracks). And unlike Johnny Marks’ famous song, Rudolph was very much loved by his parents, and only minimally subjected to ridicule. Moreover, he wasn’t hand-picked by Santa because of his shiny nose. Santa discovered him by accident, when he noticed the glow under the red-nosed reindeer's door while delivering presents to his house -- aw, even animals get gifts! Weatherman Claus had noticed the fog earlier in the evening and, feeling that it would lead to delays and accidents, gave Rudolph the rags-to-riches story his nose deserved. Upon their successful return home, Santa said: "By YOU last night's journey was actually bossed. Without you, I'm certain we'd all have been lost!"
And then there were nine.
P.S. Until 1931, when Coca-Cola made him human-sized with the classic red and white suit in their illustrations, Santa remained an elf. Now that’s a promotion.
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