This year found us driving to Maine due to my mom's health. In recent years she has driven down to spend Christmas with us. Her cardiac issues made her feel unable to handle the not insignificant trek from Maine to Massachusetts. We drove up yesterday and had a wonderful gathering. She and G were truly thrilled by the carefully chosen presents, by the love our tribe showered on them and these feelings were very much reciprocated.
Today found a day of fun here as well. Unseasonable warmth meant that mid day my wife and I took a walk and we were talking about the day. In the next few years much will change. Our Rob will likely move to another area, or be in a career where he can't be home for Christmas. He hopes to work on a cruise ship so who knows how many more Christmasses we will be lucky to share with him.
My mom was more obviously "old" when we visited this time. My mom has been sort of ageless. She worked for a loooong time as a teachers aide in the schools in Maine. She is very active in her church and the Guild that they have. But I could see that her strength is not what it was 6 months ago. She sometimes has to use the chair lift to get to her second floor apartment. She is not doing badly; she is aging. It was a reminder that I don't know how many Christmasses we have with her either.
The littles are not so little now, but thankfully there are still a lot of Yule tide celebrations with them. Chet remains perpetually youthful,enjoying all that there is to do at this time of the year. But I am not so ready to give up the crazy early a.m. wakeups on Christmas morning. Or the setting out of carrots and cookies on Christmas Eve. Nor am I ready to give up my mother.
Christmas is beautiful and wonderful but it is a time of the year that is so highly emotionally charged as well. Fiona was not with us this year as she had a chance to spend Christmas with her Cousin N. She arrives tomorrow and will celebrate with us a day later. I missed her being here, but I am glad for her. It is important that she be involved with all her family and that she always see that I support and encourage this. N put extensions in her hair for her today and sent me pictures. They are beautiful and she did an awesome job. The gift is a joint one from N and I. I bought the hair and N did the installation for free as her part of the gift. It is a perfect example of blending our families; the fact that we could work together to make something special happen for Fi is so important to me.
So now I will curl up with a book to the sound of Christmas revelry and games in our front hall and thank the goddess for a holiday of beautiful memories to carry forward.
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