Christmas with John's parents was very nice. We arrived on the 23rd (see previous post) had a quiet evening with mom, dad, and whoever else was here. Christmas Eve morning found a couple of us under the weather and happy to rest in bed. Susan picked up whatever Rachel had the night before but within 24 hours was back to normal. It was a blessing in disguise in that we found ourselves not running around all over the place and being too busy.
Having said all of those things about not being busy, I confess that I went out with my brother to do some shopping (first Home Hardware, then the Mall in Newmarket). Grace under Pressure. In the end we found everything we needed to.
That evening I went to Christmas Eve mass with mom and dad while Susan and the girls continued to recover. Mass was preceeded by a beautiful Nativity play (which I will park in my brain for future school plays). There was a 30-foot spruce Christmas tree, Father's homily was very good, and my brother played well in the choir. Father's Christmas Day bulletin was full of wonderful stories and reflections on Jesus, His birth, and how the Christmas Season has a wonderful way of briging the best out of all of us. Afterwards a couple of the musicians came back home for a drink and we all discussed the merits of various bands and bass players from the 70s.
Christmas morning was very nice. Everybody was up by 8AM and we sat around sharing and opening gifts. A funny moment was when Susan opened her gift from Rachel, a Josh Groban Christmas CD, and my brother asked who it was for. He thought we accidentally opened up his gift to mom; the identical CD. We then went to the 10AM Christmas morning mass (Susan wants a BMW after driving my brother's to mass) together.
Family was beginning to arrive back at the house and we started preparing Christmas dinner. By 5PM all was prepared and set up. This was the first Christmas in my parent's new house and we were able to set up a long series of tables in the dining room/living room, something we were never able to easily do at home. The food was delicious and there is enough left over to be enjoyed over the next couple of days as family continues to come in.
We said a number of good-byes to family and headed off to bed. Sleep came quickly and easily last night. We are fortunate.
Three more days as I write this.
We hope everyone had a peaceful and happy Christmas.
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