By Georgia Osten
There’s not a Christmas that goes by that I don’t remember that Christmas of 2001. The family was stationed in San Antonio, so that was our destination, Santa’s sleigh was weighed down with goodies. The kids were very young, only one of our children was married. We had two grandchildren by then. Our son-in-law was deployed, in Korea. I remember sending him care packages, one, in particular was candy, magazines, some toiletries and some oranges. Needless to say, the oranges rotted on the trip, they were a dripping mess by the time the package reached him.
It was a lovely Christmas, although a little somber because we were missing one of our loved ones. We decided at Thanksgiving that we didn’t want turkey again, we decided we’d have steaks and baked potatoes. Christmas day, I searched the freezer for the steaks – nothing. I asked my daughter where she put them. She said, “I thought you were bringing them?” Oh dear …
Nowhere to shop on Christmas day. I can’t remember what we did to substitute the steaks, maybe chicken nuggets, but we did find salads at Denny’s. We bought 7 individual salads, it cost a fortune. Dessert was Blue Bell ice cream, we bought it at Walgreens. We survived. The next day – you’ve got it, grocery stores were open and we DID have steaks. It’s not what’s on the table, It’s who’s gathered around it.
One of the first Christmases here at the beach, we invited everyone, it was a major ordeal. We set tables under the house and inside to accommodate the crowd. We hung plastic under the house to keep some warmth in. The next day, Matthew asked why we didn’t have cranberry sauce, his favorite. Well, there it was, still in the fridge, it just never made it out to the table.
Today, New Year’s Day, I went to the pantry to grab the black eyed peas, time to soak them. Where are the black eyed peas, I have everything else, I bought them weeks ago …
Thank goodness for The Big Store, “honey, will you go to the store to get the black eyed peas?” I guess he knows when I begin a sentence with “honey,” it means I need something, he’s already putting on his shoes.
Blessed we are – Thank goodness for a gas stove because we have no electricity …
My Cup Runneth Over
Happy New Year – May 2018 be very kind to you all!
GO’s Sand Bucket is only one beach bum’s journal of life at the beach, probably something each of you can relate to. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts, visions and/or feelings of just exactly what the beach means to you. Email: [email protected]
[1-1-2018]
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