Christmas past

  These are the things I remember from Christmas as a child. Ribbon candy in a big box. Hard candy, all stuck together in a bowl. Mixed nuts in a wooden bowl with the tools standing up in the center. Dates and figs that my dad would eat, and no one else wanted. A fruitcake, Mom's favorite thing. Bubble lights on the tree, a train underneath and tinsel galore. A plastic Angel adorned the top, slightly yellowed with age and showing signs of wear on the painted surfaces.  A poinsettia. The metal tree stand, red with green legs and a tree skirt that was supposed to look like snow. The first ornament that went on the tree was a miniature pair of  hip boots, a remembrance of my grandfather who had been a waterman. Grandfather Reichart had passed in 1932. The house was decorated with princess pine, running pine and white pine boughs. Pine cones that were painted and a sprig of mistletoe that my oldest brother always brought home. And Mom wore a Santa Claus face on her lapel that when you pulled a string his nose lit up. All of that remembered. Oh, and the stockings were all lined up in front of the hearth on the floor. They weren't hung by the chimney with care, hard to drive a nail in those bricks and dad wouldn't be happy if you tried! 

  I looked a bit for ribbon candy and wasn't successful in that. Hard candy was available but only at the dollar store. I passed on the Claxton fruit cake as I never did eat that. I used to buy one to send to mom every year but she's been gone three years now. Haven't checked anywhere for dates or figs. Truth is, this year I haven't even begun to decorate, as I'm just not feeling the spirit. I still need to write Christmas cards. Probably won't buy a tree this year as it is only the two of us and no one comes here to visit. Time sure is going faster these days, it being the 12th already. I've always complained about people starting too soon, and now maybe I've waited too long. Well, I can still have a merry little Christmas without all the trappings associated with that. It's not that I'm depressed or anything like that, just not feeling it, as the kids say. Maybe if I watched the commercial for Norelco floating heads or heard Burl Ives signing my mood would change. No sears wish book either. Amazon just doesn't hold that same excitement.