“Bah, Humbug!” Ric snarls at me as I shake my head when he reaches for a box of candy canes to throw in our cart. We are both on diets, and the Moms have clearly stated to keep the sugary treats to a minimum.

“We don’t need them!” I do sound like Scrooge, and it’s a role I seem to play at Christmas, in an attempt to cull some of Ric’s over-enthusiasm for giving this time of year.

It wasn’t always this way. As a child, our Christmas morning meant waking up to a room full of presents. Santa was overly generous in those days. As an adult, my children’s father believed that one gift and a stocking was the preferred way to celebrate the season, so I had to do a lot of convincing to let Santa be a bit more giving. Then as a divorced Mom of three, with limited resources, I came to appreciate that Christmas was much more than gift giving, a lesson I try to convey to this spendthrift husband.

So, I cut back, and he’ll no doubt add a few surprises on the day itself, and somewhere in the midst of it all we’ll find a modicum of moderation and the joy it’s all aimed at achieving.

***

It has been an interesting week of thought-provoking responses, and I thank you all for taking time to be here:

Reena Saxena
parallax
Proscenium
BrewNSpew
THE BAG LADY
REVERIE IN REVERSE
one letter UP
AWISEWOMANSJOURNEY
Stuff and what if…
Sgeoil

See you tomorrow for a new challenge!

(Photo: A rare glimpse of Santa dining out.)