I’m
exhausted. Not only from bending back to the cruel task mistress that is the Favorite
Panamanian when the house must be cleaned to a spotless level in a constrained
time period either, but from having more fun than is probably legal. My
daughter’s family was the last to depart this morning and they are safely back
in New Jersey. As soon as thy left, we launched on the house cleaning which is
still ongoing (I snuck away for this much needed break). Each year my wife
decares the house must reach a surgical level of cleanliness before we turn it
over to the house sitters. While I understand this on some level, it is no fun
achieving.
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| 2 Very Happy Grandparents on Christmas Morn |
Of
course, I have a substantial amount of excess fun in the bank based on what I’ve
been through over the Christmas holiday. So, there’s that. I sometimes fear
that I build up Christmas in my head to the point there is no way it can
possibly meet my lofty expectations. Thanks to my family and friends, we
smashed those expectancies and set impossibly high standards for subsequent Christmases.
I have no doubt, as demonstrated over the past few days, that we can surpass
even this. The pictures tell the story far better than my fractured prose.
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| Setting out from New Jersey |
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| Christmas Cousins |
The
New Jersey bunch were the first to arrive and the FBR was in residence no less than
3 minutes before she was pestering anyone who would listen about when her cousins
would arrive. They brought the newest stars of the family, the cats, Walnut and
Pistachio, who cemented their status as entertainers par excellence with their
antics. They were fascinated with their first real Christmas tree but never attempted
to scale it. It was so good having pets in residence again. I really miss
having one.
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| Overstocked Tree |
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| Watching Some Rudolf |
My
son and his family arrived mid-day on Christmas Eve and the FBR finally could stop
agonizing about why she was bereft of cousins. The BRS and BR3 were in
mid-season form in terms of pre-Santa excitement. The adults were a little wistful
because this is probably the last Christmas the FBR will have with Santa. We spent
some time devising tactics to ensure she doesn’t spoil it in the ensuing years
for her younger cousins. Both of my kids arrived burgeoning with Christmas
cookies. I’m going to have to spend the entire month of January working off the
results of my excess consumption of same.
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| Daughter Christmas Eve |
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| Pistachio and Walnut |
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| The Cookie Horde |
We
had a dusting of snow along with some cold temps which provided us with the
first white Christmas in a while. When I was young, a white Christmas was guaranteed
but they’ve been hard to come by in recent years. We parked the granddaughters
in the Man Cave to watch Rudolf while we arranged the non-Santa gifts around
the tree. I believe this was the most fully stocked tree we’ve ever had, we
almost ran out of room. After Rudolf, the kids wrote notes to Santa to accompany
the cookies they left out for him. The FBR provided a survey she wanted Santa
to fill out, like I said, the clock is ticking. They then opened their one Christmas
Eve gift before heading upstairs for bed. That set off a nearly two-hour
marathon trying to get them to sleep.
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| Cookies and Notes for Santa |
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| Patiently Awaiting Release |
The
adults adjourned to the Man Cave for our annual watch of Love Actually. In a
major upset, the ABFA stayed awake long enough to watch it to the end this
year. After the movie, we moved upstairs to welcome Santa while my son and I
prepped the Christmas turkey. I feel a real sense of passing the torch as he
now does most of the work while I look on. One of the cool things about
traditions, seeing the next generation assume the mantle. I had to get up a six
a.m. to put the turkey in the oven and as I passed the granddaughter’s room, I noticed
the light was on and there was a detailed conversation going on. I shuddered to
think how long they had already been up but they were true to their promise to
staying in their room until seven.
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| Still Waiting |
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| Daughter and her Fam |
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| Son and His |
My
passage down the stairs was noticed by Pistachio and Walnut, so my daughter and
Wingman got no more sleep with two energized cats zooming around the room. By
the time I got the bird in the oven and all the lights turned on, there was no
point in trying to go back to sleep. Precisely at 7am the granddaughters took
up station at the top of the stairs awaiting all the adults before descending
to see if Santa had gifted us with his presence. They are such good sports
about that. When the word was given, they descended pell-mell and were left in
awe of the bounty that greeted them, one of my favorite moments of the day.
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| Walnut Finally Tired and Sleeping under the Tree |
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| Back in Action |
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| Wife and Daughter |
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| With my Son |
My
son assumed the role of gift distribution, yet another passing of the torch,
although my knees and lower back really appreciated being able to sit back and
watch. The huge pile of gifts was devoured in short order by the granddaughters
who have honed their gift opening technique to razor sharpness. We had a huge garbage
bag which quickly inflated with discarded wrapping paper. This is the part of Christmas
I love most, seeing my kids and grandkids open the presents we got for them.
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| Christmas Morn |
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| ABFA |
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| Wingman |
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| BR3 |
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| FBR |
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| Of Course We're All BoSox Fans |
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| Granddaughter Photo Bombing |
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| BRS Got a New Bike |
The
two kittens were in seventh heaven racing around the living room dodging
through the paper showering. They also finally were able to approach the base of
the tree which they quickly established as their sanctuary, only emerging to
play with the latest toy that was opened for them (we might have overdone gifting
in that area – but they are that much fun). Once the debris finally cleared, my
daughter created the mimosas and my Favorite Panamanian was sending hojaldras out
as fast as she could, trying to keep up with the demanding breakfast crowd.
This was followed by the day long waves of most welcome arrivals.
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| ABFA and my Son |
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| Granddaughters Wanted to Erect a Cabin |
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| Son with the Turkey |
Great
Aunt was the first with her usual over abundance of gifts and delicacies. She
was followed by Keene Friend, the ABFA’s parents, and finally Namesake Nephew
and his family. This is what Christmas is all about, getting family (Keene Friend
qualifies) together to enjoy the day while the smell of cooking turkey
permeates the air. Keene Friend had to leave for his next Christmas Day stop
just before we sat down for Christmas dinner. It was just about a perfect day.
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| Great Aunt with Namesake Nephew and his Daughter |
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Keene Friend and I
He Gives the Greatest T-Shirts |
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| A Full House |
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| Meeting her Cousins |
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| Mrs. Namesake Nephew and Son |
The
fun didn’t stop with the passing of the 25th. Keene Friend has picked
up the mantle of the day after Christmas party that was started at my mom’s
house back in the day. The kids look forward to this almost as much as Christmas
itself and feel it is an integral part of the holiday. The granddaughters declared
they had to travel to the party together and that I was the one to drive them.
I think the ABFA had something to do with this decision, but it was a lively
ride for the first fifteen minutes before the BRS and BR3 fell asleep. The FBR didn’t
take kindly to this and sneakily tried to wake them up. She finally succeeded
and then fell asleep herself before we arrived. They were tired from two days
and nights of partying and reduced sleep.
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| Heading to NH |
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| Fast Asleep |
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| Walnut Joining the Meal |
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| Mimosas and Hojaldras |
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| Christmas Dinner |
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| Abuela Always Organizes Games |
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| Riggins, Being Blind, Didn't Even Notice the Cats |
I
love Keene Friend’s party. The Cantankerous Friend was there with his wounded
knee as well as Keene Friend 2 and assorted other worthies, including some
classmates from the redoubtable KHS class of 73. I did my very best to insure Keene Friend’s inhouse
supply of Coors Lite was properly rotated considering my upcoming three month
absence. That may or may not have been a contributing factor to my accidently depositing
a tub of dip onto Keene Friend’s bright red carpet. I was having so much (too
much?) fun that I didn’t want to leave, but more level headed members of the
entourage decided it was time. The timing was fortuitous because we arrived in
Worcester just as a robust snowstorm started up.
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| Keene Friend's Party |
 |
Once Again at the Top of the Stairs
At Keene Friend's Party |
I
awoke this morning to a fresh 5 inches of snow on the ground which was beautiful
but adding snow blowing to my already overtasked dance card of house cleaning was
decidedly unwelcome. Adding in the need to replace a shear pin was pure
overkill. This coincided with the aforementioned departure of the New Jersey bunch
as the last residents of the magical holiday. Despite all the requirements and
a 3:15 van ride to the airport tomorrow, I can’t stop smiling. I blame that incredible
family, friends, and two cats who conspired to create a very special Christmas.
My next post will be from the beach, no snow blowing involved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RECURRING CHARACTERS:
ABFA – Amazing Best Family
Athlete – my daughter
in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter
#3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel -
second granddaughter; Cantankerous
Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything,
poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high
school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside
Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in
Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends
along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions
once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite
Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR
- First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since
high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited
with after many years; Maine and
Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my
wife is the 3rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close
friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals
– female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife
accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high
school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the
Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex
and my wife and I; Soxfather – my
brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca –
wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my
son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom,
of course
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