Post Christmas 2010

Here it is 4 days post Christmas, I'm sitting in the frat house, waiting for the phone to ring and hoping it doesn't.  I'm sippin' french roast coffee made in the new 4 cup coffee maker my daughter gave me for the express purpose of using at the frat house.  Just so you know: this 4 cupper makes one mug of coffee, which is really just fine with me.  I like to consider myself a writer but then I read more than I write, so my New Year's resolution is to write at least as much as I read, or at the least, write something everyday!  I don't usually make New Year resolutions, but I'll bend my own rule and see how it goes.

Christmas was extraordinarily ordinary this year.  How can Christmas be ordinary?  There was nothing particularly special to write about, that's what I mean.  There were no fights, no snow storms to plow through; coming or going.  Scrooge only appeared on the TV screen. Nobody sold their hair to purchase a watch fob nor sold their watch to buy hair combs. Everyone had a good time and the company was congenial  and the food was superb.  So this writer's task then is to make something special from a celebration that was merely smooth, routine, bumpless, seamless and full of smiles and , and, and, well just especially fine.

The original plan was for D. and myself to motor to Niagara Falls after I finished work on Friday, Christmas Eve; a 5 1/2 hour drive.  Our expected ETA was around 9 pm.  That was until Thursday when as I was leaving work and said to a co-worked: see ya tomorrow, and he said: we're off tomorrow.  Holy cat fish manfred, the day off?  Golly, we'll be able to leave tomorrow morning when I'm fresh.  And that's just what we did.  Thus, we arrived at 1330 and got to participate in the evening's festivities.

The big day started off at 0430 when 14 month old Sophia decided that it was time for everyone to get up.  It took her mother an hour to figure out that all she wanted was something to eat and once mom gave the girl a banana to stuff in her mouth, everything calmed down and the Christmas festivities were adjourned 'til 0800.   At 0900 Sophias other grandparents and Uncle DJ arrived and her dad whipped up a super breakfast of eggs-to-order, toast, bacon, sausage, home fries, and mimosas.  Coffee and Grandma Di.'s homemade cinnamon buns rounded out the meal and then it was on to the first round of gift opening.

For a 14 month old, Sophie was quite mature in in her gift opening.  Carefully unwrapping each of her gifts.  If the gift was clothing it was tossed aside with nary a second look, but it it was a toy or book of some discription it was duly examined with care and given appropriate attention to what it did and how it worked.  One of said toys was a musical and animated cow given to her by my sister.  The cow moved its head and opened and closed it's mouth while "Old McDonald's Farm" played.  A little tentative at first because of the movement and such, soon gave way to a desire to replay the tune ceaselessly and to which she and grandpa moi danced and danced and danced!

After the lunch hour our daughter and her husband arrived for a second round of gifting.  Then it was on to the feast prepared by Jacob, Sophia's dad, consisting of a stuffed pork roast simmered in the crock pot for 8 hours.  He wishes that he'd only cooked it for 6 hours but everyone found it succulently delicious.  Mashed sweet potatoes on the side together with a fresh tossed salad of greens, pecans, fresh pear and balsamic vinaigrette finished off our repast.  There were plenty and varied libations of the alcoholic sort of which I sampled egg-nogg with Jamaican rum, a brandy slush that didn't actually slush up 'til the next day, and the usual assortment of wines.

In between times, for munching sake, there was available a buschel of Christmas cookies, biscottii, and  deux tourtière.
Early next morning we left  to avoid any possible encounter with the nor-easter pelting the east coast.  We filled ourselves with hugs and smiles from Kristy, Jacob, Michelle and Josh and a special topping of good cheer from the irrepressible, talented and intelligent personage of Sophia Aubrey LaRock.

And so, as I said, nothing special except the exceptional good will of ordinary people enjoying each other's company.