Saturday, December 10, 2005

Doing the Dickens Thing

It's barely 40 degrees out, and an hour or so from now I'm going to be hoofing up the streets of downtown Franklin with my family at our town's annual "Dickens of a Christmas" festival.

"But you're a Yankee; surely you don't mind the cold!"

Harrumph! Yes, I'm a Yankee and always will be; but I've lived in the South for almost eighteen years now. My skin is about as thick as a store-brand garbage bag.

Two years ago, my dear parents were visiting us during the Dickens festival, so naturally we brought them with us. It was cold and drizzly -- a complete poop of a day, really. Rachel forgot to bring her coat, and I didn't even notice until we got there. I found every excuse possible to duck into a store or anywhere remotely warm.

Eric, in his glory, exclaimed, "But this is perfect weather for the Dickens festival! Why, it's just like being in London for real!"

An interesting comment, indeed, since my darling husband has never set foot in London or anywhere near it. He hasn't even read a single Dickens novel.

The following year, the festival was equally cold and gloomy, but Eric was wise enough to hold off on the "just like London" comments. It's a happy thing, then, that today the sun is shining with gusto. I'm hoping the sunshine will fool my body into thinking it's actually warm. Forty-five degrees may be above freezing, but I seriously can't function at anything below sixty.

I do love the Dickens festival. Characters from A Christmas Carol roam the streets (that's Ebenezer with Eric and my dad above); there are strolling carolers wearing nineteenth-century garb; they've got roasted chestnuts, real sugarplums, and kettle corn; and Publix hands out wee cups of artifically flavored eggnog, which admittedly doesn't do much for setting the olden-day mood.

It's a superbly Christmasey-outing-with-the-family thing to do on a chilly Saturday. But I surely do wish my parents were here. Somehow, even with the (London-ish) rain and gloom, the outing was much more fun when they were here.

So think of me today. Think of me trying to remain cheerful through my chattering teeth and to remember that I'm not the one who's supposed to be calling out, "Bah, humbug!" (I wonder if they'd consider allowing a female to play the role...?) Tripping Tiny Tim might be good for a few laughs, but I guess that wouldn't be a good example to set for my offspring.

Tra la la! Off I go...

posted by Jillian @ 11:24 AM   8 of my readers are feeling chatty

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