Here's what I do...run around...

Here's what I do: Run around a lot. Here's what I like: Naps on the couch. Here's what I accomplished this weekend: Making a mess.

If you have ever read any or all of the "Eloise" books, you know who I'm mimicking. Eloise was a wonderful 6-year-old child, the daughter of a diplomat who, along with his wife, were always absent, while Eloise was being raised by her Nanny. She was a "precocious," overprivileged child, who had hilarious and obnoxious escapades throughout her home--The Plaza Hotel in New York. She was constantly creating her own scenarios, most of which were imagined, and she was a natural drama queen. The books were written by a woman named Kay Thompson in the 1950's. My mother was given the books as they became available, as gifts from her girlfriends. I think they believed I was a precocious child, and that my mother would recognize me within the pages. The books were actually written as humor for adults, but I read these books over and over through the years, and may have developed some of my impatience from this kid. So, it is with this in mind, and Eloise's short bursts of thought and speech, that I catch you up on what I have been doing this holiday season...

Here's what I've accomplished: Spending a lot of money on gifts I'm not at all sure people will appreciate. Wrapping all those presents and making them look pretty so people will feel guilty if they DON'T appreciate them.

Here's what I've discovered: That I don't like the Christmas season (of shopping, spending, wrapping, rushing) nearly as much as I used to. It's not a "bah-humbug" thing, it's just that I'd much prefer holing up in a toasty cabin in the woods and snow somewhere on or near Lake Superior, sipping nog in front of a roaring fire (preferably in the fireplace!), while reading, all this with my immediate family.

Here's what I don't want: Cooking, baking, rushing, buying, wrapping, demanding, gifts.

Here's what I do want: A cabin in the northwoods. Friends who come and just sit and sip and chat. My sister-in-law's recovery. To ice skate again. To attend a wedding reception to which I'm not invited, and don't know anyone, and to dance with the father of the bride and tell him how wonderful his new son-in-law is, and how wonderful it is to see the whole family again, and won't they be sure and look me up when they are again in the Hamptons?

Here's how I feel: Dreadfully boring and unenthusiastic. And cold. It's below zero in Wisconsin, for goodness sake.

Here's what you should do: Read an "Eloise" book. You'll gain a new appreciation for pigeons and turtles that wear sneakers. And have a great holiday, for goodness sake!