Is It Really Christmas Again?

At our house, we definitely know the real meaning of Christmas and we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. However, knowing that does not preclude all the other  conversations and traditions that we have accumulated over the years.

Kalisha has the picture in her head of the Hallmark movies' 'shopping' model. She doesn't want to have WalMart bags in her hands. She wants to do the kind of shopping where she goes to the mall and emerges with beautiful bags (and lots of them) in her hands. She wants to buy for every person and friend she knows and she wants to have a Christmas party for her friends.

I understand all of that and I 'get it'...I truly do, but her plans never seem to work out as she sees them. Welcome to the real world, right?

This year, she is hung up on Bath and Body items. She has a bushel basket full of her own and assumes everyone would like the same thing she does. She even likes the B&B bags. You know, the paper bags. She posted on FB asking for anyone's extra bags from B&B.

She had each of her gifts in a cute gift bag but when she had collected enough B&B bags, she switched each one to one of those. I tried to explain these bags were shopping bags, meant to advertise B&B. She didn't care. THEN she wanted her debit card to purchase a $20 pack of these paper B&B bags from the internet. I drew the line there.
I asked "why?" I was trying so hard to get inside her head and figure what allure these bags had for her. She finally said, "I like the colors and the picture of the bears around the bottom."
So, here's what I learned from this adventure:
1) beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder...even in paper bags
2) does it really matter what she puts her gifts in?
3) the real sentiment is that she wants to buy for everyone
4) if you receive a gift from Kalisha, guaranteed it will be in one of these bags this year
5) by next year, she may be infatuated with something else
6) I think B&B should give her an advertising rebate check

I have made a deal with myself to be much more faithful about writing for this blog in 2016. Have a blessed Christmas.

I Simply Cannot Do This Again....

The words of the title were the words I was saying to God as I desperately pleaded for Kalisha's safe return. I realize she is going to be 30 years old and wants to live on her own, but if she were living in an apartment and disappeared for a while, I wouldn't be aware of it and therefore; ignorance is bliss.
Several years ago, Kalisha found herself in a horrible situation (there is a chapter in the book about that time so I won't expound on it here) and I did not know where she was for many days. It is a horrible feeling. If you have ever been in Wal-Mart or some other big store and suddenly realized you didn't know where your toddler or young child was, you can identify with the feeling.
Kalisha is very good about letting me know where, when, how long, etc. and she also always has her phone with her, so if I don't see her when I think she should be home, I call and she explains. I am perfectly okay with that. I don't expect to know what she is doing every SECOND of the day. She needs some freedom and I don't want to be that controlling.
This is what happened last Friday. Kalisha went to cooking class with her staff person as she does every Friday. While they were at the grocery with the other girls, she wanted to buy a $2 Disney bag. (She is the Bag Queen) The rule of cooking class is this: You are not allowed to purchase any items that are not intended for the lunch that is being prepared that day. She knows the rules, but argued with her staff about this danged bag. They couldn't talk her out of it even though she knew what the consequences would be when she got home. That 'thinking in the present, not the future' always bites her in the behind.
By the time she got home, she was ready to return the bag. Unfortunately, that didn't erase the consequences. She handed over her phone and computer for 24 hours with very little complaint.
She asked if she could walk to the Kroger store just 4 blocks from our house and return the bag and pick up her prescription. She had purchased the bag at a Kroger much further away, but I assured her she could return it at any Kroger with the receipt. I also gave her a check of mine to deposit at the bank right next to Kroger. This trip should have taken no longer than 30 minutes, even if she dawdled a bit.
After 90 minutes, I was getting anxious. It was getting dark and I couldn't call her because I took her phone, remember? I wasn't in full panic mode yet but getting there.
I called Kroger pharmacy and was told she had not picked up the prescription yet. Then I called my bank (they all know Kalisha) and was told she had not made the deposit, either. Okay, now I was in a panic. It is amazing how dependent we are on cell phones. I was having all kinds of scenarios going through my head; none of them were good.
I knew she wouldn't willingly get in a car with someone she didn't know, but she does know some weird people too and might be talked into getting in with them. I was dialing the police (I am her legal guardian and they have to try to find her regardless of her age) when the phone rang. It was a bank employee. She said the sweetest words I have heard in a long time, "Kalisha just walked in our front door."
She handed Kalisha the phone. I asked very calmly, "Where have you been?"
She said, "Well, I decided to return the bag to the store where I bought it and so I had to change busses twice. I couldn't call you; I don't have my phone."
She walked in the front door 10 minutes later with my deposit slip and her prescriptions. "I'm sorry you were worried, Mom. I didn't think it would take that long."
I'm still thanking God daily that she returned safely and there is an addendum to the consequences agreement: If you lose your phone and computer, you also lose your bus pass.
My hair is nearly all gray now, so I don't know what stress causes after graying; maybe it all falls out. Oh, yippee.