We had a very nice time at Brian and Stephanie’s house celebrating Christmas with the Lang gang. A day I truly look forward to each year. The absence was palpable, but somehow not as sharp as I was expecting. Maybe the excitement of the children? Maybe because after last week, I was just cried out.
Maybe it is just the fact that it is nice to have one day where we just sit and visit, have the cousins all together and have nothing else to do.
When the kids were growing up, it was our tradition to do the Lang gang Christmas on Christmas Eve. I remember many nights where we ran home from there and spent the rest of the night wrapping, assembling, perhaps a little bit of marital squabbling, (sometimes tried to include midnight mass, but as we got wiser, we went earlier) and staying up way too late only to be awakened by Cameron at 5 am. Now, the wrapping isn’t done, but there is nothing to assemble, as that’s not a grandparent job, and there is truly nothing to squabble about. And Cameron has been trained to sleep in. Christmas isn’t the same. It’s not as busy. It’s not as stressful. But that, in and of itself is sort of sad. Added into an absence at the table, and I’m fully comprehending why Christmas has always been seen as such a hard holiday for so many.
And I didn’t mean to make this a depressing post. I really did enjoy spending time with the family. I am completely proud of my niece, and I was happy to tell her to her face and talk to her for a while. I loved seeing my nephews and my great nephew Lawson is a complete trip. And all of our kids except Colin and Spencer were there, which you know makes me happy. The reason for Colin and Spencer missing- complete joy to fill our coming days. We have so much to be thankful for. We are attempting to love, and live gracefully.
Thank you especially to my sister-in-law who always goes above and beyond. I am very fortunate to have Steph. She is truly a Godsend.
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