Christmas Eve 2020

 Do you feel it? The peacefulness and quiet of Christmas Eve? I do.

I always look forward to this time of year when I can experience Christmas Eve and sometimes Christmas Day working at the hotel.

When I came in for my shift this afternoon I was greeted with a gift of food from "Margaret." I'm not sure who "Margaret" is but she left me a delightful sparkly Christmas card (I LOVE sparkly Christmas cards) wishing me and Bill a wonderful Christmas. Her card was in a big shopping bag of individually styrofoam packaged FOOD for me and Bill to eat Christmas Day.  Hey, that sliced turkey that I had mentioned in previous blog posts about Thanksgiving and Christmas. How generous of Margaret and what a delightful surprise. 

I will eat both meals of course, because Bill doesn't like turkey and doesn't eat full meals. But he'll sure have some of that apple pie, which smelled delicious!

Thank you Margaret, you are very kind and generous. You made my Christmas celebration.

This year Christmas seems somewhat off because of all the confusion around Trump leaving office and the pandemic that is raging through the U.S. and the world. In fact, the days don't even seem right. Yesterday seemed like Friday and today seems like Monday. What day is it anyway? Oh, Christmas Eve.

Low occupancy at the hotel tonight (guest in the VIP suite, a reservation I made last Monday for them.) I just got back from checking all the rooms in the main building. I check to make sure all the TV's are working (our most common call at the front desk, synching the TV with the cable box). 

I would watch "The Christmas Carole" again (Alistar Sim 1951 version on TV) but we don't have Turner Classics on our system now, more's the pity. Most other shows are reruns and the live ones like CNN have anchor people I have never seen before in my life. I'm never quite comfortable with them, give me Wolf and Anderson anytime.

Bill and I have nothing special planned for tomorrow. We stopped exchanging gifts longer than many of you who read this blog have been alive. We do exchange cards though, which is always special. I think I have every card we've exchanged for the last fifty-five years. Yes, I'm one of those people who saves all my Christmas cards. Whoever inventories my estate when I pass on is really going to have a "Wow!" moment of "Why did he save ALL his Christmas cards?" I'll tell you why, because I'm a sentimental old fool. Besides, it makes me feel good to go back and look at cards from friends, relatives, and co-workers who I no longer receive cards from because they have passed on. Which reminds me, I didn't receive a card this year from another longtime friend.  She was the wife of a former boss of mine. He died some years ago but she has always sent me cards for over forty years now. Ironically I've never met her but she always puts a nice note in the cards. I also didn't receive a card from the husband of a former friend of mine who died over twenty years ago. I'll check the Social Security index on Ancestry.com to see if they're still alive. One day someone will say "Hey, I didn't receive a card from Ron this year. I wonder if he's still alive." Oh sure, that day will happen folks. Like by younger brother John said "We all get our turn Ronnie." And indeed we do and my turn is not that far down the road. 

I don't want to end on that down note, so here is my wish for a wonderful Christmas for all of you.