Seven People in the House!

Grandson, Alex, shoveling snow

Grandma and Granddaughter, Alecia

Daughters Erin and Carolyn with Alecia and Grandma

Daughter Erin and her Husband with Grandma and her mate

It was the week that was!  Snow, Wall-E, ham, extra blankets and pillows, computers, ipods, PDAs, cords, You Tube videos, cell phones, Christmas presents, music, lasagna, bumptiousness, a little fractiousness, tears, naps, Quiddler, dominoes, Legos, Star Wars, coffee grinding, dishwashing, Red Chili, waffles, last-minute shopping, mixed nuts, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, books, knitting, picture taking, sausages with maple syrup, White Chili, groceries, more snow, slush, ice, UPS disappointment, soggy newspapers, Sudoko, crosswords, Boggle, hugs, kisses, meltdowns, laughs, jokes, hilarity, Get Smart (old and new), shoveling, boots, gloves, cookies, chocolates, cocoa and coffee, coffee, coffee.

At one point I said to anybody in general, "I feel like I've just run a marathon!"  My body was aching, my mind was dim, I was sleepy but somehow exhilarated.  Two of my three children were with us at Christmas and this was such an unusual event it may not be repeated again for 10 more years, but I hope that's not the case.  Our Christmases have gotten so quiet with just the two of us slowly and sedately opening our gifts to one another on Christmas morning, putting the spent wrapping in a bag to burn later, stopping to eat breakfast, then spending the rest of the day calling our kids and our mothers to wish them a happy Christmas, then napping, putting our new treasures away or reading them or playing with them.  But this Christmas was a whole new ballgame.  It wasn't like the wild Christmas mornings when the kids were little.  For one thing, only my eldest daughter and her husband were with us on Christmas morning.  And we are adults and we value our sleep, so three of us were late to rise.  The other one, my husband, got up at 3:30 a.m.!!!  He loves Christmas and couldn't contain himself but he was patient with the rest of us. He made the coffee and built a fire and turned on the lights of the Christmas tree.  He'd gotten a "wrapping bag" and scissors, because he is a tidy guy.  And he waited for the rest of us slug-a-beds to get going.

There was snow on the ground from a couple of snowfalls and it was snowing again.  All of us marveled at this, because it  hardly ever snows in Washington on Christmas and it never snows in Virginia on Christmas.  It was pretty perfect with Christmas carols playing on the stereo. With four adults the present opening went on longer than usual and it was lots more interesting.  I was filled with delight at my favorite present of all--the lovely marriage my daughter has made that was evident in the way she and her husband were with each other that morning and the week they were with us. That was a wonderful gift for me--not tangible, I can't put it on a shelf or in a drawer or read it or do it, but it filled me with pride and gratitude that maybe I had a tiny bit to do with it and even if I didn't, it is true and real.

The other daughter and her son and daughter didn't arrive until Christmas evening, just a little before the Christmas Ham dinner went on the table.  We'd made a huge salad and lots of mashed potatoes because this daughter is a vegetarian, though her kids aren't.  She appreciated the Yukon Gold potatoes that Erin's husband helped to mash.  The noise level ratcheted up a few degrees with now seven people in the house.  It occurred to me that my sister-in-law has 6 kids and so her house is filled with 8 people ALL the time!  I pointed this out to my husband and both of our eyes widened in shocked realization and appreciation.

There was more present opening for the new arrivals and then we watched Wall-E for the second time.  We had watched it on Christmas Eve--actually unwrapped the DVD and watched it with my Mom and brother and then rewrapped it for my grandson.  It's a perfect film for Christmas--sweet, funny, a fantasy with a little attitude for the current times.  

The days were filled with game playing and computing and conversation.  The daughters hadn't seen each other in 18 years and I hadn't seen my Virginia daughter for 2 1/2 years.  There was lots of catching up to do.  My husband spent a good deal of the time trying to communicate with UPS because a package he thought would arrive on Dec. 23 was still not here.  My oldest daughter left several messages for her two grownup sons who were back in Virginia taking care of the dogs and obviously doing their own thing on Christmas, to the dismay of their mother, who was missing them.  I spent my time watching everyone and marveling at what nice people I had in my house.  I asked some questions I'd been longing for years to know the answers to, got satisfactory replies, gave hugs I wish I could give every day, trying to save them up to remember later and reveled in the gaiety and warmth of cooking and eating together.

We said goodbye to Erin and her husband on the 28th and Carolyn and her kids on Dec 30th and then we were alone again, washing and folding up the bed linens, organizing the clutter, getting at the dust bunnies that took residence while we were having a good time instead of cleaning.  We put the breaks on the eating of cookies and candy and nuts and went back to our ordinary disciplines.  We quickly resumed our quiet lives.  It is strange to have the old quiet life back after tasting what it's like to have kids and grandkids in the house.  I miss the bustle and the opinions and the laughter. I rue the day I ascribed to the child rearing theory of teaching your kids independence so that they will want to see the world and not be satisfied with staying in the one-horse town they grew up in.  Where did I get such a silly idea? Well, that's water under the bridge. stuff under the thing, last week's wash.  Now I can hope everyone had such a good time that they'd like to repeat it again soon.  Hint, hint--nudge, nudge--wink, wink--say no more!