Christmas Memories 2014

Christmas came as a welcome reprieve to the emotionally-draining days that led up to Christmas. Even Christmas Eve day was stressful as I felt the pressure of not getting all my tasks completed prior to the deadline that I had set for myself (the deadline was David's arrival home from work). I wanted to have last-minute shopping done, presents packaged up and ready to load in the car, laundry folded and put away, my things packed but I was still running errands when David called to say that he was on his way home. Errands took longer than expected and I didn't get home until around noon and David had already been home for 30 minutes. Dave could tell by the harried expression on my face that I was overwhelmed and he didn't push me to hurry and finish so we could leave. Matter of fact, he let me pick the departure time. I figured I would be ready by 2 and that was just fine by him. Oh the welcome relief that came when I didn't feel like I was wrecking Christmas by being behind schedule.

With the pressure off, I relaxed. We were in the truck by 2 and on our way to Quincy to celebrate Christmas with Dave's family. I think in our 24 years of marriage this was one of the most enjoyable Christmases we have shared with his family. We laughed, we played games, we worked on a challenging puzzle (and completed it). Dave and I discovered that sharing a twin bed isn't too bad; actually, we both came to the conclusion that when at home, in our queen bed, we sleep in a twin-bed amount of space.

We missed Katelyn but were so happy to Skype with her. She is doing well and looked so happy. She had a crazy week leading up to Christmas so she wasn't able to e-mail us on Monday or Tuesday to let us know when she would be Skyping. She called us Christmas Eve day as we were on the way to Quincy to set up a time. We decided that 11:30 a.m. would be the time. Well, 11:30 came and went. Then it was 11:45. Since this was the first time Skyping from our laptop I was afraid I had messed something up. So I broke the rules. I called Katelyn (I had the number from her call the day before). She said "Mom! What are you doing?" I said "You're late. I just wanted to make sure I hadn't screwed up the Skype." Katelyn said "Oh, sorry. I'll be right there." And then 5 minutes later there she was on our computer screen. Talking with her and seeing her was probably the best Christmas present any of us received.

I love my family. I was grateful that we were able to spend time with Dave's family this Christmas.