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Fish
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Christmas
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Our Christmas celebration started Friday night when Paula made her annual Christmas Eve trip to her brother Jim's house. Sarah and I chauffeured Paula, while Chris spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Carrie's family. Brian's flight home didn't leave San Francisco until 6 AM Christmas morning. |
Christmas
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Christmas Day was a bit different this year. Okay - it was a LOT different. Brian's flight wasn't scheduled to arrive until 6:10 PM on Christmas Day, so we decided to wait until he arrived before opening any presents or having our big Christmas meal. My mom insisted on cooking pancakes for breakfast (I put on 6 pounds while she was here). Paula's parents stopped by and visited for a while. Chris and Carrie arrived mid-afternoon, and then we went to pick up Brian from the airport. Mom had Christmas dinner waiting when we got home, and we all had a wonderful time - sure was nice having Brian home for the holiday. |
The
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My mom insisted that I go with her on our annual "day-after-Christmas" trip to Franks Nursery and Crafts to check out their specials. In years past we've been there as early as 7 AM. Thank goodness this was not one of those years. On the way home, the car insisted on turning into CompUSA, where I found myself in the digital camera section. I'm not real sure how it happened, but when we got home, I think I said something like "Paula, look what followed me home, can I keep it?" Before I could get the camera unpacked, it was time for Paula, Chris, Brian, Carrie, and I to began a 35 minute drive up to Paula's oldest brother's house, where Paula's family was having a get-together and ornament exchange. Needless to say, Paula was very excited at the chance to see her mom and dad, her oldest and youngest brothers, her sister, and all their families. I was very excited that my kids are old enough to drive and I could play with the new camera during the trip. Paula's multiple sclerosis symptoms are really exacerbated by fatigue and heat, so I was concerned about taking her to a function held during her normal "nap time," especially since there would be a large number of people in a relatively small space. But Paula did unbelievably well while we were there and came home all bubbly and excited. I took a handful of pictures with my new camera, but due to a unexpectedly successful trial of the camera's "delete all" function, am able to share only three:
This was Carrie's first chance to meet most of Paula's family, and as far as I know, Carrie got everyone's name right. In this picture, it looks like she's trying to figure out which of Paula's brothers she's looking at, John or Jim?
The dapper looking young man is Paula's nephew, Scott. I think he's about to try and con Jim's wife, Jennifer, out of some more shrimp. If you look closely, you can see Paula's wheelchair at the table - maybe she found the desserts and couldn't be pried away from them.
You can probably tell by the look on April's face (she's in the back) that my camera was pointed at her a lot. April is Paula's niece. The pretty young lady closer to the camera is John's grand-daughter (John is Paula's oldest brother). |
The Day
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On the next day, my sister and her family drove down to spend the day and exchange gifts. That isn't entirely accurate - my niece, Katie, drove down late Christmas Day, and we got to spend two extra days with her. Here, compliments of the self-timer on the digital camera, is "everyone:"
Left to right: As my digital camera got passed from person to person, Carrie seemed to be a popular "target" for trial shots.
I don't think, though, that Carrie will be napping any time soon if Chris and a camera are nearby:
We took a few pictures in front of the tree. I've discovered that the autofocus doesn't work real well in low light situations - next year I'll open the drapes. While the picture may be a bit out of focus, one thing is crystal clear - Chris and Carrie are two outstanding young adults who deserve only the best, and when they found each other, they both got what they deserve. Our baby has grown into a beautiful young lady. I'd say she is a great kid, but she isn't a kid any more. She is, however, great.
While we were playing with the camera in the living room, Carol's son, David was busy making sure Grandma knew how much we appreciate all her wonderful cooking:
As you might imagine, Paula has a continuing struggle to keep her weight under control (it is hard to do any aerobic activities when you can't move your legs and your limbs don't pay any attention when your brain sends out commands). Instead of snacking on junk food, Paula likes to chew gum, and she's always asking us to go to the store for packs of chewing gum. For as long as I can remember, Chris has teased her by making a big deal of removing a stick of gum from a pack, slowly unwrapping it, and then popping it into his mouth. This year, for the first time in over five years, Paula wrapped a present by herself. It was a huge box of chewing gum for Chris. When we brought the box home from the store, it held ten packages of gum. Each package came with 20 sticks of gum. By the time Paula finished wrapping the box, there were only 19 sticks of gum in each package. Somewhere along the line, Paula managed to end up with a "stash" of ten sticks of gum and a VERY pleased look on her face. Our friend Rodney stopped by for a visit. I wasn't able to get him to sit still in front of the tree for a posed photo. Gonna have to put that on my "to do" list for next year.
Even though Rodney wouldn't sit in front of the tree for me, I was able to get a few more people to pose:
That's my sister Carol and her husband, Bert. They are proof the adage "nice guys finish last" is completely wrong. I don't know what I did to deserve a sister like Carol, but whatever it was, it must have been REALLY good.
Have I mentioned that it was really great having Brian home again?
That's my mom and dad, who I can't say enough nice things about. I can't remember when I first said this, but it is as true today as it was way back then - when I grow up, I want to be just like my dad. While my mom and dad were here, we made some name tags for a New Year's Eve party mom is helping to organize. I made her model a name tag for me:
If you're ever bored and lonely at 4:45 AM, have I got a place for you to visit. Look at all those folks at Port Columbus airport!
<YAWN>...that is waaaaayyyyyy too early to be 35 minutes away from home. Come to think of it, that is way to early to be anyplace but in bed. So Brian got on his plane and I went back home to bed.
And that wraps up this account of our holiday season. As I write this we're in the last week of 1999 - finishing up a decade where Paula's multiple sclerosis has had an impact on our household each and every day. As I look back over the last ten years, I am amazed and astounded at how our kids have responded to the challenges imposed on them by Paula's disease. Way back when Paula was pregnant, we talked and dreamed about the type of people we wanted our children to be when they reached adulthood. Even though we had high hopes and expectations for our kids, those dreams we had back then don't even come close to the reality of the way our kids are now. I don't tell them often enough, but as you can see, I am very proud of our kids. Another thing that amazes me as I look back is the love and support we've received from my parents and my sister's family. Mom and dad live over eight hours away. Carol lives over three hours away. Yet time after time, they've been here when we've needed them - often without me saying a thing. If you scroll back up and take another look at the photos, you'll see a bunch of smiles. Our home was a happy place this holiday season, in large part because of the love, care, and support my family provides. I know that Christmas has passed, but if you don't mind, I'd like to make one last Christmas wish - for you and yours to have that same sort of joy and happiness throughout the rest of the year. Merry Christmas!
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Brian had a 5:55
AM flight back to California, and since we had several inches
of snow, we decided to go to the airport a wee bit early. "Hey
Brian, stand in front of that clock so I can have a picture on
the web site that shows we really were at the airport by 5 AM."
