Saturday, December 20, 2008

White Christmas and Hominy

The wind is blowing 90 to nothing. I have no idea what that really means, but when I say it I mean that the wind is blowing very hard. I'm sitting at home due to a cold that chose to attack on Thursday. Most of the rest of the family is at the Union Gospel Mission sitting in on the chapel service, then they will help serve the meal and clean up. Wish I could be with them. I enjoy our time there. Haley is at Pine Cove for the Christmas retreat. She rode the bus down with the Tower and Ranch campers.

This past week went by fast. Aaron wrapped up school on Monday. Corinn had one of her tests bumped till Thursday due to our one day of ice. She wasn't too happy about that. Haley made it home on Wednesday, two days late because of the ice. Callie finished school on Friday. I attended a Christmas party for the staff and volunteers at Coventry. I didn't think I would be able to go due to a meeting, but it got canceled and I was able to make most of the party.

We usually try to watch White Christmas every year. We don't always pull it off, but on Thursday we did. We know all the lines, all the songs, and all of the editing mistakes. Clay complained about it quite a bit, but what do you expect from a grumpy thirteen year old boy? Corinn and Aaron's significant others came over for dinner and the viewing. Last time Micah was here for dinner I almost killed everyone with a roast made out of an old boot. It was horribly tough and I usually make a very good pot roast, but this was beyond bad. I choked so bad I couldn't breathe and had to lose the piece in the sink. It was terrible, terrible, terrible. This time I fixed Taco Soup and it was a winner. Except I put the wonderful vegetable, hominy, in my Taco Soup and that led to a major discussion and then a flat out wrestling match between Haley and Aaron. I kid you not. It was a full contact meal. Who knew hominy could provoke such violence? I love hominy and so do two of my girls. Apparently my boys, including my husband, do not. And now, Micah has chimed in on the anti-hominy side. I accused him of just trying to win brownie points with Phil.

Has anyone ever noticed how white White Christmas is? Many, many years ago Phil and I were dealing with a sick child and were up later than usual tending to their needs. There was a knock on the door and our backyard neighbor's teenage girls were standing on the doorstep. One had a butcher knife. Their parents were at a Christmas party and it sounded like someone was trying to come through their front door, so they hightailed it to ours. We called the police and they came and checked it all out. It seems that when the wind hit the Christmas Wreath it would make sounds like a person trying to pick the lock and get through the door. So, the girls settled back in. In a few minutes they were back asking if they could stay until their parents got home (they were on their way). We, of course, said yes and asked them to watch White Christmas with us. That is when I discovered just how white White Christmas is. Our neighbors were African-American and the only people of color in that movie are the porters and bartenders. They didn't say anything, but I've never forgotten how I felt as I watched it with them.

I like it when I get taken out of my comfort zone (most of the time) 'cause it makes me look at things from a different point of view. I hope it makes me a better person.

Okay, the ramblings are over. I'm rambled out.

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