My oldest son has returned to town, or more accurately, to State,
and before you say,
“Ho-Hum I know this story…”
it’s not what you’re thinking (Luke 15:11-32)
He’s home for Christmas!
We will all be in the same city, give or take a mile (or 20) for a few days and I have asked that we get together at least once over this most holy of seasons.
I don’t quite know what the plans are for the actual day, which of course is tomorrow and very typical of our family.
What I do know is hubs and I will be keeping some of our well loved traditions and winging the rest.
We will attend Christmas Eve mass followed by Chinese food, everyone’s welcome!
There will be stockings for whomever awakes at the ranch with us in the morning.
After breakfast we will head out for a movie, one of the new releases…still not decided on yet, we’ll pay for whoever shows up with the same last name!
Early in the afternoon our ever growing, rolling, entourage will head over to the in-laws and matriarch to satisfy those of us who want a full blown turkey dinner with all the trimmings!
We have been promised an unusual second meat, Peking Duck…I am all for rare dishes and look forward to sampling one of those astoundingly, red, flattened birds.
When we have spread some cheer and calmed our rumbling bellies we will leave behind one of my Bakewell tarts and head to our flat to cook our feast of Indian food.
Because that’s what we do best as a family…cook!
We will mingle, talk, open gifts and take photos (if we remember) and fill our table with Eastern delights.
My tree this year has the sole responsibility of decking the halls (apart from the Advent Wreath).
I decided to play it down with the greens and use gifts as festive decorations which prompted one of my daughters to comment,
“Are we having a scavenger hunt this year?”
What a good idea!
While looking for the perfect evergreen to shoulder its mammoth task of proclaiming goodwill I kept remarking to hubs that,
“The tippy top of a fir would be brilliant!”
Before I bought anything my sister-in-law gave me an idea when we went over to see her beautiful tree around Thanksgiving,
Why not use the top of our artificial tree which just happened to be safely stored in the patio cupboard?
I hung the most favorite of decorations on it and placed a little knitted bee as the star and there it sits,
Perfectly pretty and dripping chocolate.
A note here to empty nesters…
Don’t plan anything when company comes a-calling that you can’t happily do alone, especially around the holidays.
Have a Blessed Christmas.
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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