My time is my own, my husband is my own, my bedroom is my own, and I am my own again! Lest you think I’ve fallen into some kind of narcissistic orgy of proprietary declarations, let me just explain briefly: my MIL has gone home to Florida. It was a good visit and many good things were accomplished during her time here, but now I get to enjoy the luxury of a clean home and dine off the leftovers of several good meals. And here I sit, catching up with my friends and my thoughts while the coffeepot gurgles behind me comfortingly. Life is good.
All in all, this Christmas, although very hectic, was a gratifying experience on many levels. Tony got to spend time doting on his mother, we both got to get to know our nephew better (and what a fine young man he has grown to be!), I got to spend time with my best friend at her daughter’s Christening, and also got to spend time shopping and wrapping gifts with my mother, and I baked many cakes.
And yes, I got to give my grandfather the Grandpa Hat! It was a precious memory I’ll always treasure. He opened the box and carefully picked it up and held it close to his face in order to see it. “It’s a hat,” he said simply. And then he turned and smiled at me, almost conspiratorily, and said, “Did you make this with your very own hands? It’s beautiful. And oooooooooh will it keep my head warm when I walk those dogs of mine.” He put the hat on, and repeated again, “It’s a waaaaa-aaaarrm hat!” (He’s from Georgia, afterall, where we add an extra syllable or two to every word…), and then he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into a hug, and whispered in my ear, “I love you, girl.” And he said it so quietly, and without his usual sense of self-conscious humor, that I truly believe it was one of the most sincere expressions of affection we’ve shared.
And now I must go get coffee….and blow my nose…
[Time passes…..]
Whew! I’m back. I hope you took that opportunity to get some coffee, as well! To wrap up the Christmas Day report, I’ll conclude with two of my favorite quotes from the day.
Here’s my mom, the Queen of Christmas, and boy howdy does she love Christmas! We can always count on Mom breaking all the Christmas gift-giving guidelines! For instance, in our large extended family, we have been trying to implement a “children-only” gift policy, in which the adults don’t exchange gifts and only give gifts to the children. Ha! That never works! We all break the rules, but Mom breaks the rules spectacularly. She just loves giving gifts! So this picture was taken right after my mom said, “A gift for me? You weren’t supposed to get me a gift!” Crazy woman! You think you’re the only member of the Carter family who knows how to break the gift-giving rules? You come by it honestly, Mom. Embrace your gift-giving weakness…
And here’s Grandpa again, still proudly wearing his hat. Remember, my grandfather is mostly blind due to a severe case of macular degeneration, so he can’t read anymore. He was opening a gift from my brother, an audio book of Neal Boortz’s “Somebody’s Gotta Say It”. Upon investigating it, Grandpa said, “I do believe this is one of those books that reads itself!” LOL! What’s so endearing about this is the fact that my grandfather is no simple bumpkin, but a mechanical engineer, who used to read engineering books and plant pathology texts in his spare time. And this is the man who, prior to losing his sight, had fully discovered the splendors of the Library of Alexandria right in his own office – the internet. He routinely uses phrases like, “You should google it…”, and “There’s a problem with the wireless network.” So don’t be fooled. He was just playing quaint.
And that kind of sums up Christmas day: Mom pretended that the rules didn’t apply to her, and her only, Grandpa pretended to be a simple country man, and I pretended that I was fully participating in the day, and not trying to engrave every moment in my memory as a mental record of my family. The most important part of the day, though, was not pretended – that we are a family full of love, and joy, and wonderful, warm and wacky characters.
Beloved neices and nephew, you’ll just have to learn how to go with it!
I hope everyone had a blessed and beautiful Christmas Day, and that you find peace and rest and renewal as we enter the New Year!
eTrish 