Gifts

It's January 13th, probably time I post my Christmas post, hmm?
At one point, I mentioned to OM(old man) and a couple friends that I wanted to just skip Christmas this year. Much as I skipped Mother's Day. Of course, I didn't. But it was the first Christmas without my mom and probably Sister Cali's last Christmas. Not exactly cause for celebration. But it was also Hope's first Christmas, and Jon's 10th and Joey's 7th and they deserved a Christmas. And as Sister Jill put it, skipping Christmas wouldn't make next year's any easier. We need to live our lives. Sister Cali had already decided she'd come to the Large City to the North over New Years weekend and my side of the family would go up there to celebrate. So we went to North Carolina for Christmas with OM's family. His brother and SIL live in Durham with their two 3 year olds (not twins, I'll tell that story some other time).

The season was better than I could have hoped for because of some wonderful gifts. Some gifts were tangible, like the beautiful mother's ring OM gave me, but most were not.

Christmas Eve service - Just Hope and I went. OM and Jon were not feeling great. Our church does a very traditional candle lit service with the old carols. I sat up in the balcony holding Hope and cried. I cried in grief for my mom and Sister Cali and for my cousins who lost their dads this year. But I also cried in wonderment at the beauty in the church and the beauty of the little girl in my arms. It was a healing cry. When the lights came back on, I could belt out "Joy to the World".

My In Laws - I don't talk to my BIL or SIL often through out the year, it's easy to forget how much I enjoy their company. Even if I were not related to them, I would totally choose to spend time with them. We stayed at their house for 6 days. MIL and UIL (uncle in law) were also there for parts of our stay. I never felt like a bother to BIL or SIL. In fact, I felt welcomed and taken care of. I helped with dishes and cooking occasionally, I picked up some, and took care of Hopester. But for the most part I sat and listened and talked and felt valued just for being there. My BIL cracks me up. And his sense of humor is so similar to OM's. Sometimes I forget how funny my husband is, it took his brother to remind me. And my SIL asks questions, great questions, and then really listens to my answers. I hope they realize how much I value them.

Water slides - My side of the family stayed a hotel with a small water park. I went down the tube slide just before my dad. I watched him come off it and grin, a huge grin. It was good to see him so happy even for a moment. He is not a very demonstrative man just pure happy grins are rare.

My sister's daughter in law - Cali's husband was 20 years older. He had two daughters from previous marriages. One daughter lives next door to Cali, she joined Cali and Cali's son to the Midwest. She is such a blessing to us all.

Late nights - Starting when I was in college the best part of home visits were the late night gabs. Mom and Dad would be in bed and the siblings would sit up and talk. During those times, I started feeling like an adult not just a little sister. Loved it. Looking back, I have to wonder about Mom. She always had a crazy sleep schedule and loved to be in the middle of those things. I wonder if she really went to bed because she was tired or if she was giving us the chance to bond in ways we could with our parents around. I'm probably over thinking things. At any rate I've always treasured the time. Over the years, some spouses have joined in and others go to bed early. The first night the siblings talked, but Cali was not staying awake and it wasn't quite right. But the second night she'd gotten her wind and it was right. It was just the siblings and the two oldest grandkiddos (19 & 17) and we talked and we laughed and it was right.