238. Christmas spirit (the real one)

It is that time of the year again. Bitterly cold winter weather and days so short that I wish I were a bear so I could just fatten up and go to bed. The dreary dreary days at work where these days I seem to be making an enemy a minute.

Yet today when I get home - after a shouting match with my boss which ended by me leaving his office and almost slamming the door. It did bang a little and I was surprised because I thought that the heavy leather padded door would be impossible to slam. Yet it did bang. I gave it a slight pull and it banged shut behind me. I thought this is a fake padded door. And I headed down the corridor. I could see the secretary through her opened office door waving at me to come in. I ignored her and made for the stairs, opened the door - a little more cautiously this time - which led into the gardens and kept the pace all the way home. Once home I sat and had a chat with my dog.

‘I can’t believe this!’ I said. ‘You’re a dog, right. A male one on top of it, and you still understand me better than my boss.’

It was while I was deep in conversation with the family pet that my front door banged. It was a neighbour. 

‘Would you like a Christmas wreath for your door?’

I really really wanted to give her a bear hug (yes, here I go with the bear again) and jump up and down.

‘Come along!’ She said. 

I followed her down to her house. Her garage door was wide opened and on the concrete floor heaps of ivy, bunches of holly and piles of moss here and there.

‘Can I just add a personal touch to it?’

I did not want her to be offended by adding to it. I mean it looked perfect as it was, round and fluffy and very green. 

‘Yes! That’s the idea. We made 70 and we are going round and giving them out to people. Do you want some holly?’

She picks a couple of branches of holly and passes them to me. I am overjoyed and excited like a kid on Christmas morning.

‘This is an excellent idea! Thank you so much! Really! I’m so happy!’ 

‘Well, then I’m happy too. That’s the point of all this, to make sure we are a community.’

I clutch my precious wreath and head into the cold rain. Today is 1st December and that with the pudding project and the work piling on on my desk I was beginning to think I’d have no time to make the wreath for my door. 

I leave the wreath on the table, leave a note for Baby and my husband to go and get the Christmas boxes down and head off to my friend’s house for tea. 

Hey! Looks like the bad week has gone full circle and is over. Tomorrow will tell. 😬