Christmas 2009

Prologue

I'm glad I waited a few days to post an update. My views on this Christmas changed a lot in the 24 hour period between the evenings of December 24 and 25. As a brief update to part of my last post, lunch with my boss was great! I got some insight to where "the company sees me going" (old joke referencing my boss at a previous job) and it looks good! I think it's safe to say I'm slowly working my way up the corporate ladder :) AND... they're working on a bonus structure for the admin staff! :D It was a good lunch and left me feeling very confident about my place in the company.


Chapter 1 - The Work Party

Last Wednesday was "Turkey Day" at work. I finished working around 12:30 and went over to the hospitality room and started on rum right off the bat. Lunch didn't arrive until about 1:30, and I think I was well on my way to being drunk by that point. It was a wonderful lunch... perogies, ham, turkey, stuffing... mmm!! To top it off, I ended up winning a pair of tickets to the World Juniors! Switzerland vs. Slovakia... sadly I won't get to see Canada play live, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. They're $55 tickets and I get to sit in the corporate box. I'm pretty stoked! The afternoon proceeded with rum... rum... and then Richie's homemade rum which the lab tested at 55%. I'm glad I had the foresight to get my mom to be my designated driver lol. It was a great afternoon though! I don't understand the people who don't stick around... so much camaraderie. A couple of the guys--managers!--even hugged me and wished me a Merry Christmas. Feels great to know that this body of people that I love seeing every day loves me back. All in all it was a fabulous afternoon and I don't seem to recall saying anything that could get me in trouble... lol


Chapter 2 - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was at my place this year. At the time I was kind of grumpy about the way things turned out, but looking back on it, it's SO my family. The day got off to a rough start... mom came to pick me up around noon so I could go get my car from work. She'd just got a call saying my brother (who is handicapped and in a care home) was having seizures and was being taken to the hospital. In 21 years he's never had a seizure, so it was pretty scary for both mom and I. My mom broke down in my arms... it was a strange feeling. I'm used to our roles being switched financially--often in the past I felt like I was more the parent (the responsible one) and she was the child (the irresponsible one). Lately this has been ringing true again. Anyway I'm not used to having to be the "parent" or strong one emotionally. I don't often show my emotion right away... it usually takes a while for any sort of overwhelming news to sink in. I was stunned, and at the same time trying to be strong for my mom. To make a long story short, it turned out they weren't full-blown seizures, more a reaction to a very high fever that was caused by a urinary tract infection. The good news is that he's on the mend and will likely be discharged from the hospital within the next couple of days.

I offered to go to the hospital with mom but since I was hosting Christmas Eve she said I should go home and get ready. I was secretly glad... I had checked my mail on the way to meet mom in the car (she went down to warm it up while I locked up) and I left a card in my mailbox that I didn't want her to see. I was dying to get home and open it. It was from my biological dad... I knew it would just make mom more upset if she saw it. She knows I keep in touch with his parents, but she doesn't know that I sent him a Christmas card this year, and that I've been seriously contemplating trying to get in touch with him for the past several years (with a couple of failed/neglected attempts). My biological dad and his new wife moved to a different city a couple of hours away when I was 7 or 8. I can count on one hand the number of times I've talked to him since then. He called on my 16th birthday but I was so terrified that my step-dad would find out that he called, so it wasn't much of a conversation. He sent me an expensive watch for my grade 12 graduation... I've worn it almost every day since. I believe he called on my 21st birthday (or somewhere around there... the years all blend together)... and I haven't heard from him since except for a couple of Christmas cards. To say I have unanswered questions and a mountain of curiosity would be an understatement. He sent me a family picture. I now have two pictures of my half-brothers... one when they were 9 and 5 and this one where they're 18 and 14. Very nice looking boys... though I really don't know which side of the family they get their looks from lol.

Anyway, back to Christmas Eve. My aunt and my grandma were the first to arrive. I'd told everyone to be at my place around 4:30 or 5:00 with the hope that we could be wrapping it up around 9:00 since both my aunts live about a half an hour out of town. I just nicely got my aunt and grandma in and settled when the phone rang. It was one of my cousins, saying they'd be at least another hour. Seriously?!? In the meantime mom showed up to grab a quick bite to eat, then she was off to the hospital again. My aunt and I put on a comedy CD of Christmas stories in an effort to keep grandma entertained. Not a bad way to kill 45 minutes, but I was disappointed that Christmas wasn't coming together like I'd hoped. My aunt and cousins FINALLY showed up just before 8:00... they said they were waiting for someone to deliver bales for their horses, but at the same time I wonder if they didn't have to stop at Wal-Mart to finish their shopping? Regardless, not long after they showed up, my mom got back.

I have to admit, I now realize why my grandma gets so stressed out on Christmas Eve. It's tough trying to cook and keep tabs on everyone... where is everyone? Do they have enough to drink? Are we ready to open stockings? Etc. etc. I felt pretty frazzled, but I think I managed to keep my composure pretty well (thank you, amaretto and Pepsi...). I was also disappointed to find my one aunt constantly running off to the bathroom to reply to text messages. Although she and my uncle have decided that they're getting a divorce, they're still living together waiting for their acreage to sell. And I really don't agree with her letting my cousins (12 and 14) know as much as they do about her dating new men. I just don't think it's something the kids should have to be concerned with, especially at their ages. I remember all too well what it was like being a teenager... it's tough enough as it is, never mind having to worry about their parents getting divorced and mom's new suitors that she's met on internet dating sites. *Sigh*

Anyway the evening went pretty well--at least everyone has said to me how much fun they had. By the end of it I was absolutely exhausted, and after the door closed for the last time I covered up the leftovers and went straight to bed to crash. I have to admit though, I was kind of disappointed that I didn't get to hear the inside jokes and have the "secret" conversations in another room because I was too busy running around replenishing food and drinks and keeping tabs on my cats to make sure they didn't run out the door. Had I written a blog that night or on Christmas morning, it would have been about how disappointed I was with the way Christmas Eve turned out and what a crappy time I had. I'm glad I waited to write.


Chapter 3 - Christmas Day

Christmas Day started much later than it traditionally did for me. I remember being a kid and waking up at 5:30 in the morning to open my stocking. That was all I was allowed to open... I would take it back to my room, go through my loot, then after an hour or so go back to bed. I didn't get to open presents till my parents got up. This year I slept till about 10:45 lol. Mom was up at the hospital with my brother and didn't make it to my place till about 1:30. We had coffee, chatted, and eventually got around to opening gifts. All around it was a very meager Christmas since most of my family is short on money. But I got lots of nice little gifts... things that I needed. I plan on re-finishing my balcony next summer so I asked for a trowel and putty knife for Christmas. Small, useful things that I won't have to buy myself. I love practical gifts... if it will serve a purpose in my life then I'm all over it! I also got the last seasons of Seinfeld that I needed to complete my collection! :) Which puts me into a bit of a dilemma... I used Seinfeld DVD's as a filler on my Christmas list for the past few years (something I'm too cheap to buy myself but that I genuinely want) so what will I put down next year? Oh well... I'll deal with that then.

Christmas dinner at my grandma's was a blast. I think I appreciated it even more this year after the stress of having to host the previous night's events. We had a WONDERFUL time... the highlight of the night was when my two aunts got bickering about a purse. One claimed she'd got her purse from the other one many years ago. The other one claimed "There's no way that was once my purse, it's ugly!" The two were bickering back and forth when all of a sudden I "channelled my inner black lady" (something a friend and I have been known to do when we get stoned) and started off on a rant... "Wut, u don like mah purse?? Why don u come ova here an say u don like mah purse!!" The whole family cracked up--grandma included! "Mah purse" was the butt of many jokes throughout the rest of the evening! A new--but fun--addition this year was grandma reading off old phrases and making us fill in the blanks. For example, "Don't count your ________ before they're _________" It got pretty competitive.


Epilogue

Regardless of the minor bumps in a road, I will likely look back on this Christmas fondly, as I do with all the others. I pray that it wasn't my last with my grandma. As crazy as she can be sometimes, she really is a great person and I love her to bits. I think being the oldest grandchild means I have a closer bond with her... I'll have always had more time with her than the other grandkids--12 years more if you don't count my brother. I have so many good memories with her from when I was a kid, and I'm happy and proud that she was able to experience a Christmas in my very own home :)

Peace, love and happiness...