Friday Fricassee

Funny, how I've been pressuring myself this morning to come up with Just The Right Friday Fricassee Post Before Christmas.  Must be my writerly perfectionism rearing its gnarly head.

But really, I've had such a joy-filled month, and I guess I'd just like to spread a little of that.  It's the whole anticipation thing--because I absolutely adore surprising the people I love. 

When Mr. A and I were newly wed, a friend asked me if we did stockings with each other.  I raised an eyebrow at her--because stockings were something from childhood, right?  But after she shared how much fun she and her husband had stuffing each other's stockings, I was converted.  Mr. A and I have been doing stockings for each other ever since.

It's the most romantic part of my Christmas.

I'm up for the challenge every year--finding things that aren't stupid or useless that will fit into a woolen Christmas stocking.  We don't do silly things like tubes of toothpaste or cheap candy.  (Or, like the sign at Walmart touts, bottles of Tums. No, seriously.)  Of course, we don't stuff the stockings with rubies and gold watches, either.  There's a middle ground and there's a budget, and we've both gotten pretty darn good at this.

We wrap each gift, too, which is a throw-back to my own childhood.  I've often scorned Mr. A's upbringing of throw-unwrapped-gifts-into-a-stocking.  I mean, where's the magic in that?  (I know, I know.  Half of you wrap, half don't.  What can I say? I'm loyal to my roots.)  Fortunately, he's found the value in wrapping the stocking gifts, so it's now a firmly entrenched tradition.

The utter dorkness of our Christmas-morning-on-the-sofa-with-stockings is beyond description.  And the anticipation of watching him open the gifts makes me squeal a little whenever I think about it.

And, truly, anticipation is a wonderful thing--not just during holidays, but always.  It's a huge part of the joy of giving, and of the joy of experiencing life.  We anticipate laughter when we share something funny.  We anticipate success when we send our work out there.  We anticipate a wriggly hug from our sweet nephew when he greets us at the door. 

My entire December has been imbued with anticipation.  I love it!

So there you have it.  Whether you are celebrating Christmas or not, may your anticipation of joy and pleasure and success and accomplishment and the sparkle in a child's eyes be fulfilled beyond your expectations.

And thank you ALL for being part of this wonderful community!