Bodega Bay

The weekend at the Dunes Cottage on Salmon creek provided a grand finish to my birthday month. This was the second annual Mom's birthday celebration that replaces in our family here on the coast and in the Nevada desert Thanksgiving and Christmas worries. I have a way to gift my kids and grandkids as we eat and play together for a couple of days. I shopped for gifts for each of them over the last two months. It was so much better than in December.

After breakfast they opened the Christmas paper wrapped presents. I had so much fun because everyone was surprised. And the gifts were something they wanted and liked.

We spent Saturday morning playing in the cold, very cold waves on the beach. Skyler and Shae teased the waves and within minutes of arriving were soaked. We took turns holding their hands and running from the waves that got the rest of us wet up to the knees. After lunch I sat in a chaise lounge on the patio and let the kids sit with me play with me and each other. We read a little and then it was time to go to the tide pools. The tide pools were a disappointment. Last year there were hundreds of starfish clinging to the rocks and the sea anemones were everywhere. We only saw one starfish and very few sea anemones. I hope this is not because of the climate changes. Saturday weather was sunny and warm but not hot, just perfect.

Sunday morning we took a short walk on the foggy beach. Short because it was impossible to keep the kids out of the water they were ready for a repeat of Saturday morning but they were dressed in long pants for the trip home.

Part two...I guess this is my rant.
I have spent many years playing Scrooge through THE HOLIDAYS. I boycotted Xmas for many years and then started taking back the parts of the holiday that I liked. Buying gifts was occasionally forced upon me but my heart was never in it as I walked through the stores full of, what I saw as overpriced junk wrapped in red and greed see I misspelled green. I buy as little as possible from Thanksgiving to New Year's day as a protest to stores that replace Halloween merchandise with Christmas decorations before Halloween.

The first year of my boycott I took Paulette to Disneyland on Christmas day and David visited some friends in Southern California. We happened to see a little of the DoDa parade in Pasadena that year. The next March i bought Paulette a new bike as an annual gift. For several years David got new tires. That's what he needed and wanted.
A couple of years ago i spend Christmas day at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with the Hulapai Indians who served Indian Stew. Each year has been different.

As I see it It would be much better for each family to have a big celebration in the birth month of the elder of the family. Presents, big meal, a family get together. Airfares might be cheaper, surley the airports would be less crowded. Gifts would be more thoughtful as there would be none of the abouve mentioned junk. I believe in the long run the merchants would do better if they did not have to work so hard to make up profits at the end of the year.

Sooooo in October when you are beginning to stress over THE HOLIDAYS; perhaps it is time to decide how you want to celebrate. Keep what is meaningful and joyful. Move what can be moved to another time of year. Drop the stressful and unnecessary.