Holidays at Home and Away

For the first time in many years we spent Christmas away from home this year. Jennifer had vacation she needed to use up this year and, somewhat to her surprise, when she requested the week of Christmas off she got it. She didn’t have the 31^st of December off so we were back in Weymouth for New Year’s Day.

We hit the road on Saturday, December 22^nd. I must have been too excited to sleep because I awoke at 2:00 am. When I found that Jennifer was also awake we decided to hit the road early. We’d been planning to get up around 4:00 and leave before dawn to reach my parents’ home in Indiana in one long day on the road. Our bags were packed and the car mostly loaded. We were on the highway by 2:15. Dawn found us in Pennsylvania and nightfall found us in Western Ohio. By supper time we were at my parents’ home near Indianapolis.

It was very good to spend the holiday with my folks, not only my parents but my sister Marcia as well. We didn’t do much while we were there but sit around my parents’ family room. We talked. We read A Christmas Carole out loud, which we do every year at our house. Maura played Just Dance on the Wii with her Aunt Marcia. We ate lots of good food.

We did get out of the house a few times. We went out to eat. On Christmas Eve we went to church. It was the first time I’d ever been to my parents’ church. Jennifer and Maura also came, though they could have stayed home if they had chosen too. It must have been a bit strange for Maura though. I love going to church on Christmas Eve. The service is always joyous and peaceful.

My parents had made other plans but they were disrupted by the weather. On December 26^th the Indianapolis area was hit by a blizzard. The seven inches of snow that fell was not much by New England standards but high winds define a blizzard and the roads were dangerous most of the day and there was plenty of reason to stay home.  Two trips out were necessary. My parents’ beloved but aging cat Chelsea was sick and had to go to the vet. She had to be sedated to examine and treat her and she died unexpectedly when she was waking up after my parents had gone back to bring her home. I think it was a good thing that we were there. Having her granddaughter around made the loss easier on my mother.

On Friday to we all went to a movie. Everyone needed to get out of the house for a while. We saw Les Mis. Maura really wanted to see it and everyone enjoyed the show. I’ve been whistling tunes from it ever since. I was impressed that they were able to find enough actors who could sing well enough to do their roles justice. They didn’t cast anyone in the movie who couldn’t.

On Saturday we left for home. We waited until after breakfast to leave. It’s not as easy to leave before dawn when we are heading home and we take two days on the return trip. While we were driving eastward it was snowing ahead of us, so the road conditions were not always good but we avoided the worst of the weather and made it home by mid-afternoon on Sunday.

Jennifer had to work on Monday while Maura and I ran errands to prepare for the holiday. We spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at home, just the three of us. We had a dinner of homemade appetizers and spent the evening watching Xena Warrior Princess on Netflix and playing Munchkin using the new cards Maura got for holiday gifts this year. At midnight we watched the ball drop on TV and then we all went to bed. New Year’s Day was more relaxing at home. I took the time during the day to write down some New Year’s resolutions—which was the first step to keeping one of them. I plan on keeping a journal this year. Time will tell how far I get.