My day began at 5:28 with a friend texting “Rabbbbit Rabbbbit HOLY MOLY it’s December!?!” I was up. Chip was already doing his calisthenics on the living room floor and Trixie had taken his warm spot on the bed as soon as he vacated it. Jeff was breathing dog breath in my face. Pearl sleeps in now that she is 11. It was very dark and very cold. Holy Moly is right. I had been up at 11:57. Wide awake. Fretting about the way to stage the place next door in the something like 48 hours that I will have once the crew leaves before our son and his family arrives. This is not a complaint. I am so grateful to have two houses when so many don’t have one. Honestly. This is not a serious worry. It’s just me wanting everything to be perfect when in fact, it really is already. Don’t you hate it when that happens?
I had never heard of the Rabbit Rabbit tradition ( you say it first thing on the first day of the month for good luck) until my son-in-law from Wisconsin taught it to my grand daughters. I throw salt over my left shoulder, never travel without a rosary, walk under ladders, or step on the cracks. So, at 11:57 pm on Nov 30 I said Rabbit Rabbit, figuring it was close enough to Dec 1. Well, maybe not, so I waited until 12:01 and said it again. It can’t hurt, right?
I cleaned out a dresser to use next door. It had been Papa Bob’s. Underwear, t-shirts, socks. It’s been almost a year since he died, and it seemed time to give it some new life. Still, I held my breath and didn’t think too deeply as I quickly tossed stuff that didn’t matter to anyone. After I took the sack to the trash can this morning, I found a sock on the floor. I kept it.
When our family was young we used to have a home-based version of Secret Santa. We drew names from a hat– and kept who we had a secret– but instead of a gift, we had to be extra nice to the sibling, exchange student ( we had three…) parent or spouse– and here’s the trick: they shouldn’t be able to guess who it was, so basically we all had to be secretly kind and helpful. This is still a December habit of mine. Which may be why I said yes to taking my daughter’s puppy and old dog for the weekend while they go to Whitehorse for youth basketball games.
I have the first holiday play rehearsal shortly, and then choir practice. Tomorrow is a big First Friday downtown– a good opportunity for Christmas, Hannukah and Solstice gifts and for general good cheer — Amelia has an art show at the Distillery and Kelly’s sunny paintings are at the Brewery. Saturday 10-2 the high school art club hosts a holiday bazaar at the school, and at 5 SHARP (you know Annette… she will not wait) the cannon blast will signal the Lighting of the Fort up on the Parade Grounds. The annual event will feature a weenie roast, sledding (there is a skiff of fresh snow) caroling and a nativity play.
