Sunday, December 26, 2010

Fun Monday - My would-be Holiday Letter

Our blog-buddy Jill wraps up her hosting duties for Fun Monday with this challenge:

Give us a holiday update or an update on your year in general. Where does this year leave you, or where are you going? What do you look forward to, or look back on, with anticipation or joy? This can take the form of your annual holiday letter, a letter to yourself this time next year, a comparison of last year to this, or whatever you feel comfortable with. Pictures encouraged!


Dear Family and Friends:

It's that time of year again... the time when I apologize profusely for not getting out those Christmas cards and gifts in a timely manner-if at all. It's probably a good thing you don't rely on those yearly missives to find out if we're still alive or not because I'm sure most of you would have concluded that we were no longer a part of this world years ago.

Usually, you don't get them because we're just so darned busy. The television business is crazy most times of year, but for some reason, Public Television has decided that December is the perfect time to have a pledge drive. Whether it's because they think people are in a giving spirit, that they won't miss an extra $150 this time of year because they're spending like crazy anyway, or they're counting on people suddenly remembering that they need a tax deduction for next year, I don't know. Whatever the reason, it's a reality in my daily life beginning at the first of November when the first satellite feeds of pledge programming start coming down. In the olden days, programs fed a couple of times so that if you blew the first recording or had a problem with the feed, you had a second chance. These days you get one shot at it and if you miss it or your satellite receiver isn't tuned just right, you get to spend lots of time emailing or calling other stations to see if you can beg, borrow or steal another copy from them. Then there's finding timings, taping breaks sometimes and trying to get log information to the fundraising part of the station in a timely manner.

Once the drive starts, there are program changes - and all the work you put into carefully promoting programs has to be redone when the powers that be decide that we need yet another airing of Celtic Woman instead of Tackling Diabetes or Andy Williams' Christmas Special because we have tickets!

The pledge drive ends in mid-December, which leaves me about 10 days to pull it all together for Christmas because up until then, there has been no shopping, no cleaning, no cooking, no planning and no cards written. By then, I'm wiped out.

It's actually rather amazing that Christmas comes to my house at all some years, but the last minute effort is usually worth it.

Now that Christmas has come and gone and I have a moment to breathe, I can tell you some of the highlights of the year.

Most of my highlights have to do with my son, the shining light and hope for the future that lives in my house. I do have one spectacular one of my own to share too, though!

January - I discovered that I'm kind of a stick in the mud. My husband decided that I really was crazy. My son participated in his first violin concert. I was climbing walls.

February - ZBoy is breaking free of his family a bit. He sort of got interested in Science Fair.

March - I began reconnecting to my past. We all got artistic. I got older, but it didn't bother me.

April - For some reason, I thought I might be a gardner. Z and I saw Anakin and Padme at a concert. There was a bad report card. My boy faces the future.

May - Time went by too quickly. I had a meltdown. My boy's afraid of writing. But he still graduates...

June - I rediscover my black thumb. I got to meet a blog friend, pick blueberries and Z had a friend come to stay.

July - Things got sweaty. We try to be good parents. Z tries to be home alone. I fall in love with an old dog.

August - My Man got a new knee! We realize that we are blessed. I learn something new.

September - I love my animals... and my brothers.

October - I have a reputation. The Boy can SEE!!! I go to Korea and wow!

November - Still in Korea and Matt married Dawon! We hung out but then I had to come home.
To people who make my life what it is.

December - I decided I would live anyway. Had to be here for this!

And there you have it - our year in a nutshell... or a long, drawn out missive you probably stopped reading after you assured yourself that we were indeed still alive.


Ari picks up January as Fun Monday host!!!

5 comments:

gayle said...

Congrats on a wonderful year!!!

grace said...

wow Sayre, you did a good job on this one! Have a great 2011!

ari_1965 said...

This was a good post. The links were a great idea!

(I am the only person in the world who hates Celtic Woman. The only thing I hate more than Celtic Woman is Lord of the Dance and River Dance.)

Faye said...

I get the rationale for public television doing pledge drives in the holiday season, but am sure it puts a lot of strain on staff. And enough of the Celtic Women! I love them but would like to see something different for a change--like Loreena McKinnett.

I remember many of your 2010 stories. Lots of energy invested in rearing a good son. And memmories of Korea. Hope your brother and SIL are safe there now.

Jill said...

Our whole year seemed to consist of WAITING. Yours seems full of activity.