By The Chimney With Care

Since we were both too lazy to attend to matters last year, my ex wife and I waited until this past December to split up our old Christmas decorations. This worked out well for me, because at the same time we were dividing the spoils, I was also classifying my remaining decorations into three piles; garbage, sentimental but not my favorite, and cool enough to make an annual appearance. The first pile went straight into a trash sack, the second went into various boxes and back into the attic, and the third stayed out for a few weeks to celebrate the season.

Now my annual decorations all fit into one box, simple and organized.

Part of the small third pile was my Christmas stocking that I have had since I was two or three. As the nails are present year-round on the mantle, it was a simple matter to hang up my stocking, and I did exactly that. My ex asked me why I was hanging it up, with the added comment of, "It seems kinda lonely and pointless to hang it up all by itself." While I couldn't verbalize why I felt the urge to hang up my stocking above the fireplace during Christmas, I could and did mentally call my ex wife all manner of unkind names.

Christmas Eve, I went to my parents for dinner (homemade fried chicken). After the meal, I loafed on the couch watching A Christmas Story on the channel that plays it on a loop all day long. After being away for few and a half hours, I returned home to feed the dogs and continue my loafing. I dozed off on the couch (again watching A Christmas Story), and was awakened at about 11:30 by my Saint Bernard brushing past me. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, but it was apparent from the sounds that Ike was sniffing something. I cracked my right eye open to behold a Christmas miracle. Ike was sniffing my stocking, which appeared to contain items other than the usual air.

I laughed into the empty room, knowing that one of the two groups of friends with a key to my house had paid me a visit while I was away. I think I might have also muttered a cheery "Fuck you!" to the memory of my ex wife asking why I was even bothering to hang my stocking. The contents of my stocking are as unimportant as the identity of the culprits (which I later determined by checking my caller ID and counting the beers in my fridge). The important thing is that I have some INCREDIBLY thoughtful friends that went out of their way to make a difference in my life.

That pretty well trumps anything you can wrap up and stick under a tree.

Heres some music:
The Gaslight Anthem – Great Expectations
Cheers.