Year End

I'm sitting here on New Years Eve in my traditional attire consisting of PJs, bathrobe and slippers- just like I have in so many years past. And if that isn't enough to tell you that I'm spending the night alone, well, the fact that I'm writing this should be the giveaway.

Some people might say that if you're spending New Year's Eve alone you must be either a loner, a loser, or just flat out boring. And while I certainly fit into more than one of these groups, I'm perfectly happy about it. Certainly if I had my choice, I would rather be sitting here with the kids sleeping snugly upstairs above me. But it's been a long time since that was a possibility. Still, I take comfort in the fact that I'm not at some party with the volume of chatter increasing along with the consumption of each beverage. Or worse, trying to walk through, or be standing with, some mob as we wait in the freezing cold to watch a ball go up or down- only to go home later and wonder what happened to my mind, and my wallet. I could be watching the Three Stooges marathon on tv, I am instead sitting here, thinking about the last few days.

Christmas this year was everything Thanksgiving wasn't. Things were low key and laid back and best of all- we were all together. The day flowed at what felt like a perfect pace, with people opening their presents and enjoying others opening theirs. Sure, my gifts were great, especially from the kids, and it was way more than what I expected or deserved. But as good as it was, it still came in second to the paper it was wrapped in. The day went so well that it was several days later before I realized that there was never one of the traditional Christmas night letdowns- certainly not on my part. And I doubt there was on anyone else's part either. Nobody has ever been able to hide it that well in the past.

The day after Christmas was spent, as I mentioned previously, with Sam getting his wisdom teeth out. This second day was only slightly better than the first, if those kinds of things can be measured. His face was pretty swollen. This would make the Saturday after Christmas celebration at Grandma's house a challenge. Certainly this year's activity or rock climbing would be out of the question for him- much to his relief.

The rock climbing was the idea of one of my niece’s. This was rather than the more traditional "boring old bowling". This is perfectly in keeping for how I think about my niece and her adventurism. And I have to admit that I fully expected to dump the kids off and bring Sam to his grandmother's house. But I ended up staying the whole time. It was a lot of fun... to watch.

Grandma's house was crowded and hectic and there was way too much food. In other words, it was just the way it was supposed to be. On my side of the family, every Christmas, we draw names for who to buy a present for. This year, I was unlucky enough to have drawn my oldest sister and brother-in-law. I say this because they have nicer things than I could ever hope to match. However, on the bright side, they drew me- and their gifts were great. As a matter of fact, I wrote the first half of this post on a tablet they gave me.

Sam had made it through the day, swollen cheek and all. His eyes though had that sad, tired look I hadn’t seen in him in years. It was time to go. With the snow coming down harder, we headed back home. After a quick stop at the comic book store, we dropped Jake, and half a van full of stuff back at his college so he could celebrate the new year (and the rest of the weekend) with his friends. From there, we dropped Helaina at her apartment and then headed home, exhausted.

Ready For Fun!

Yesterday started with more shoveling, and otherwise was pretty low key. Sam’s swollen cheek looked better than it had since his teeth were pulled and his spirits were better too. I picked Helaina up since she had left her car here the day before, and after much deliberation, she and Rachael went sledding. To say that Helaina wasn’t enthusiastic about it would be an understatement- an understatement bordering on a lie. But she went gamely along and seemed to have had fun when she and her sister returned. She went home not long after, leaving with a basket full of clean laundry. The remainder of the afternoon and evening was spent with Sam playing one of the games he got for Christmas and Rachael and I watching part of a DVD together, before she went off to read- the kind of activities you enjoy when you don’t have the energy to do anything else.

Today, the day before New Years Day, it was just Sam and me- for most of the day anyway. We watched Looney Tunes together, and later Seinfeld. In between, he played his games and I played with my new tablet and computer, along with doing the usual things that needed to get done. Later, Rachael returned from her errands and we briefly went grocery shopping together, buying Sam a “Happy Meal” on the way back, which he can now finally eat, with caution. Rachael went back out and bought the two of us some Thai food that we shared together before she got ready to head out to celebrate New Year’s Eve with some friends. First, she practiced some new song she’s been learning, singing and playing along on her ukulele. And here it is almost four hours later, and I can still hear it.

So, now it's almost midnight. Sam is asleep upstairs, but each of my other kids are scattered in different directions- none of which will bring them back here tonight. But in some odd way, I’m kind of fine with it, at least partly. They’re celebrating, maybe even reflecting, in the ways that are right for them- just as I am right now. And more importantly, they’re living their lives.

New Years Eve is a time to reflect on the past, and for me at least, to wonder about the future. I’ve commented before that much of my life these past few years feels like an ebb tide. But I’ve been lucky. Luckier than I deserve. And even an ebb tide can unexpectedly reach higher on the shore once in a while. This week has been one of those times. Happy New Year.