High Expectations

I ransacked my extensive collection of jigsaw puzzles recently, it being near enough to that time of year, and found the perfect one to kick off the season. The last time I assembled this particular puzzle was 2009, and I had the wherewithal to insert a little note indicating that all 1,500 pieces were present and accounted for.

The note also included the information that the reason the puzzle box was taped up with Gorilla Tape, was due to Dozer the dog having a bit of a lark. I can smile now because enough time has gone by, but I also smile because this Holiday season promises to be a different one for us here on the mountain, and not just because the Doze will not be with us.

Who will be with us for the first time in the history of the universe, is BossLady, who traditionally goes back East for the Holidays. Not only will she be here but her mama will be here too. Without amping expectations up to elevated heights, I foresee this Holiday season being a gentle, low-key affair, with emphasis on warm and fuzzy and not bright lights and glitz.

Farm folk don’t do glitz that well. 

One reason I like puzzles is because they are a community event. Pull up a chair, lean forward, and who is to know whether you are a champion puzzle worker, or simply someone who wants to be part of the scene? It is all one and the same. That’s why jigsaw puzzles have always been a part of this season for me. I have a wide array of choices, and among them are a couple dozen with wintry, seasonal themes. The more pieces, the more fun.

Last year Gluten-Free Mama and I broke tradition, and bought a Christmas tree from Spare Change, down in Willits, instead of going up Bell Springs Road, to where there are vast quantities and you bring your own bow saw.

A little too perfect for a
Bell Springs Road production...

We spent a fair amount of time decorating the place with branches of fir, photographs and moments from years past. Many of these include tree ornaments given to me by students. Not a year goes by that I do not pause to reflect upon those small tokens of students’ appreciation.

On the one hand I might have thought they considered me their worst nightmare. On the other, there was always a a half-dozen wrapped packages on my desk the day Christmas break began, many of them Holiday baked treats, some of them actually containing chocolate.

A few years back, I got seriously disenchanted with the Holidays, because they never could seem to match up to my expectations. Then I changed my strategy, eliminated the concept of expectations and had a much better time of it.

There is nothing especially glamorous about working jigsaw puzzles, listening to Holiday music and enjoying one another’s company. There is to be no swinging from chandeliers, and no dancing on table tops, so we can toss grandiose expectations aside.

A few good meals, maybe a throw-back game of poker somewhere in there and tamales for sure, if I know SmallBoy. If it snows, there will be a little more ambience, but it’s not necessary.

No, I prefer “high” expectations to “grandiose” expectations, any day of the week, and especially on Christmas Day, and I am reasonably certain that I will not be disappointed.