Clump #80:  Wrap presents on hand.

My older sister and I have a long tradition of staying up until the wee hours of Christmas morning wrapping presents.  Hear ye, Hear ye: Let it be known that this year I started wrapping Christmas presents on November seventh.  Impossible, you say?  Well, here’s the proof:

On many Christmas Eves of yore, my sister has bailed me out.  One year I went a little haywire at garage sales, buying and stashing away so many bargains that I was shocked and overwhelmed at the volume when I finally put them all together.  I couldn’t have done the wrapping without her.

Then there was the year our younger daughter was testing the magic of Santa Claus by hiding a little rolled up paper on which she had written difficult questions only Santa would know. I think “How do you say Merry Christmas in Chinese?” was one.  That year my sister was in charge of research while I wrapped.

Last year we were both busy wrapping while the movie Auntie Mame played on TV, starring the incomparable Rosalind Russell.

I love Auntie Mame’s motto: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”

Sometimes when coming up with gift ideas, my mind is like a hamster running round and round on its wheel, never making any progress.  In recent years I’ve often done this while thinking of gifts for our young nieces and nephews.  The older they get, the harder it becomes to hit on a gift they might really like.  Should I give similar gifts to both sisters?  Will one like the other one’s gift better?  Will their male cousin think it is too baby-ish?

I’m taking Auntie Mame’s advice on this now.  If I have fun and enjoyment picking out and wrapping the gift, that’s the most I can expect.  There are no guarantees, so why sweat it?  Life is too short to get wound up about such, ultimately, trivial things.

Rather than meager worries, I choose a banquet of abundant joy.