Zeitgeist

I have been pitifully remiss in blog posting since I've returned from beautiful Afghaniland. In an effort to amend my poor habits I signed on for December's NaBloPoMo, thus making daily posting mandatory. Forced goal setting; something absolutely necessary for a slacker like myself.

What have I been doing? One might ask and all I have to say for myself is that I've been eBaying and playing online games. Perhaps not the greatest use of my time but I have managed to pare down the family's retched DVD collection. This is part of my Zen Plan, in which I am attempting to live with what I need rather than with what I want.

Anyway, on to Zeitgeist. Zeitgeist is NaBloPoMo's theme for December. The best definition I've found is "the spirit of the time." I like that.

In the spirit of the time, I've been downsizing (as alluded to above with the eBay endeavors). I've done some other things as well. The spirit of this time, as I feel it, is one of high unemployment, ineffective government and holiday preparation. This is the short and very generalized list. Holiday preparation includes a big dose of expectation management and my personal desire to meet others' expectations in a manner that celebrates the meanings of the season and doesn't rely on material gratification. Again, my son has surprised my with his Christmas list that includes PlayStation games (yes, that's PlayStation, with no numbers following the title). I was worried that this would be the year that he realized that other kids have so much more than he does (not that he doesn't have plenty, just putting myself in his place, amongst a bunch of little kids with cell phones, Wiis and satellite TV in their bedrooms). But, once again I got lucky and PlayStation games can be had on eBay for as little as a buck a piece. Hooyah!

We are making do with much less this year. I am currently unemployed awaiting the start of law school in January, when I'll actually receive a housing allowance courtesy of the fabulous Post-911 GI Bill. I've found that I am quite the housewife. I enjoy making homemade meals and even having them ready, along with a pot of coffee, when my husband comes home from work each day. I'm sewing new curtains for my kitchen and dining room (pics will follow). Also doing a lot of vacuuming and laundry! Guess that goes with the territory, huh?

I recently stood in line at a local store behind a woman who bragged that she had completed all of her Christmas shopping already. I noticed that she used her Bridge Card (food stamps) to purchase her groceries and a credit card for the toys (of which there were an abundance). I'm certainly not making any morality statement on her situation. I'm well aware that there are thousands of families in this country who have found themselves on public assistance, tragically unexpectedly, over the past couple of years. My only thought at the time, was sadness that she thought that she needed to spend so much on toys for her children when her family is obviously struggling to meet their actual needs. I know that little can replace the joy a parent feels when they have managed to secure happiness from their children. The thing about material happiness, though, is that it is fleeting. Mere time spent is much better spent than cash, in almost every case.

I can think back on every great gift I got for Christmas growing up and I cannot even say what happened to that ten speed or those cowboy boots. The thing that would have made me the happiest would have been to have my dad home. He was in the Air Force and somehow, over the 16 years that he was with us, he was only home for his very last Christmas before he passed away. I would give anything now for one more day with him, any day, it doesn't have to be a holiday. My dad though, was of the large poverty-stricken-family-mold, and as an adult it was important for him to provide for his family financially. He probably spoiled us kids and he didn't even mean to. He just wanted us to have the things that he never could have had as a child. This reminds me of the old woman, Hoora, in the third part of the Iranian film "The Day I Became a Woman." She takes a ludicrous shopping spree, after the death of her husband and an inheritance, purchasing everything she ever wanted but there's no place to put it and she even forgot what the last tie was for on her finger. I recommend the film (for other reasons also, which I will save for another day).

I had a lot more to say today, but I've either forgotten or gotten distracted. I'm sure there will be more about living in the spirit this month, along with lots of other crazy stuff that has been on the Wandering Elf's mind this past year.

For now, I'm going to spend some time with my son.