Have I mentioned what a complicated move this has been?
Trying to time the selling of a house, selling of 2 vehicles (and the timing there of), powers of attorney so that I can carry these things out in Cliff's absence, the turnover of 2 jobs (including the planning a college graduation), schooling of children, obtaining 2 different kinds of passports and FIVE sets of luggage, medical screenings (including LOTS of shots), dental screenings, vet screenings of 4 visits...done JUST SO as to avoid quarantine, fairwells with every circle we run with, AND the commitments that come with the holidays. Not to mention...household goods to classify as either: Long-term storage, express shipment, regular shipment, luggage or garage sale...being careful that nothing gets left behind that you meant to send, or gets accidentally put in storage where you won't see it for years, OR gets sent to Japan sooner than you mean it to...which is EXACTLY what happened to my Christmas music!
As I was packing up our Christmas stuff to be sent in the express, I failed to make the connection that by sending the music, I wouldn't have it to enjoy for the ENTIRE Christmas season! I'm the type that would play Christmas music the day after Halloween if my family would let me get away with it...but I am nothing if not considerate, so I AT LEAST wait until Thanksgiving.
The funny thing is, ALL of our Christmas music is also on our Mac in iTunes (which is also on it's way to Japan). ALL I would have had to do is check one little box to sync the Christmas playlist to my iPod, and I would have been in BUSINESS! Did I do it? NO!
At first, I had resigned myself to being without it...trying to find it on the radio (which I did try...only I wouldn't know if it was Christmas music...because it's in Spanish!) or borrowing from friends...but who knows if they'd have my Christmas staples? I wouldn't want to seem ungrateful...I am NOTHING if not grateful!
Anyway, I caved. I had a Christmas music shopping spree! I even did some of Cliff's Christmas shopping for him. One of the many peculiar Christmas traditions we have is that he presents me with a bizarre Christmas album each year. We have quite the collection...disco, callypso, banjo (which we dubbed, "Deliverance Christmas"), etc. See if you can spot this year's gem in the photo. It was only $5...and WHO KNOWS if they would have had such a treasure in Okinawa? The gamble was just not worth it.
As I baked my rolls this morning with Harry Connick Jr. crooning in the background, all felt right in the world. Well, almost all...but I could at least close my eyes and pretend...
2 comments:
Good thinking we didn't bring anything "Christmas" with us except our music...I regretted it. How long til ya go? If you like painting your house bring paint chips you like with you. They are no where to be found and it helps to have exactly what you want because the Okinawains make up some weird colors. The walls are cement so it might be nice.=-)
Thanks for the tip! My whole house is painted (mostly universal khaki, but the kids have some other colors) and I love it. I may just paint our house there, too, just to make things more interesting.
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