A Christmas Letter to My Readers

Dear Readers,

Here come the holidays for real.

Up to today, really, it's been the prep stage but, if you're lucky, most things are done by now and you can start to kick back just a bit.

Bake the cookies, shop, wrap, sob quietly in a corner--you know, that sort of thing, mostly, has been checked off and now we can start drinking like everybody else in America.

Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, is the day that we -- as a family -- take our annual ride to critique local Christmas light displays, place the gifts beneath the tree, quaff lots of hot cocoa and I gird myself for the huge breakfast that I cook to distract people from the fact that I don't cook anything else for the remainder of Christmas Day.

That's our routine...gifts, breakfast, and movies in our pajamas for Christmas.

It may sound unambitious and while the day's activities stem from the fact that there is very little family to be had around these parts, many friends who stress out about who goes where and when, have expressed envy of our totally laid back day.

And once breakfast is over, it is very laid back.

Breakfast is usually a scene because, inevitably, I singe or char something and the smoke alarms go off as the bacon grease heats to the point of near combustion.

Once the crisis is averted, things calm down but there is more hysteria on the horizon as a few of us, who shall go un-named, reliably sob every year as George Bailey announces that he is the luckiest man in town or laugh as Ralphie nearly shoots his eye out with his Red Rider rifle.

Popcorn is made, cookies are munched and Chinese food is ordered as the light starts to fade, indicating that another Christmas is drawing to a close.

To spend any day with my husband and sons is a gift from above. Throw in gifts, popcorn and Chinese food and you have achieved near perfection. The year the Mormon Tabernacle Choir shows up to sing "Adeste Fidelis," on our doorstep, will cinch the deal.

Not to say every Christmas is peaceful. Once or twice Seth has been called in to work and and a few years ago, my sons had a fight that involved such mayhem that Santa, recovering from an extreme case of "sleigh -ass" back at the north pole, could hear it.

Crazy, right?

And one year I went totally berserk when Seth gave me a pair of children's dolphin earrings but my response was justified. Who gives the woman who shopped, wrapped, baked, cooked, decorated and virtually delivered Christmas on a platter, dolphin earrings meant for a little girl? Apparently Seth does. But it's guaranteed that he will never do that again.

Anyway, here's my point--Merry Christmas, dear readers.

May your holidays be sweet and full of family, laughter, good health and happy times. And, while we're at it, let's take a moment to reflect on how lucky we are to live in a land of such plenty and opportunity.God bless America.

Love, Susan Says...

P.S. In case you need to know--here's how to wrap a cat for Christmas.