Tuesday, December 28, 2004

'twas 3 days after Christmas.....

Once again this year, another great Christmas! I love taking time off and just hanging out around the house, spending time with the bride and the girls. Here's a summary of the past couple of weeks:

We left for Mom and Dad's on Saturday the 18th. We'd actually planned to leave around 9:30 but didn't hit the road until 12:45 because of a HUGE problem with AT&T Wireless. Long story short - we ordered a phone for Meg for Christmas, checked it out and it was broken. We spent OVER FOUR HOURS on the phone, and finally went to pick up a new one at a local retail outlet. The bride logged most of this time. She's one of the most docile people I've ever met, but when she sternly told the rep (one of the 17 we talked two over two days) that "your customer service STINKS", I could have sworn I saw small wisps of smoke come from her ears. We had a great meal that night (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans - my favorite) and enjoyed spending time with Mom and Dad.

On Sunday night we went to Chris and Kathy's and had dinner at their house. Seems that we always pick right up when we left off with them, like we just saw them the day before rather than months ago. The kids all love being with each other. We all watched "Desperate Housewives" together, and this was Chris' first time to see it. (I think he's hooked.) Too bad we live 300 miles from each other, or we'd get to see more of them.

The Monday before Christmas we went to Mamaw's to spend time with her. She'll be 84 in May, and still lives by herself. She doesn't cook much any more, and was excited that she had ordered a big Subway platter of sandwiches for us all. We went to pick it up, and she asked us if Subway was the kind of place where you could go in and eat. Mamaw is a very giving person, and she especially loves to give at Christmas. This year, we all went in and bought her a 32" television, and she was thrilled. Now she can really enjoy her "stories" (soap operas) in full view.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning running errands and returning things at the mall. That afternoon, we went ice skating in Bristol. This is the second or third year that the racetrack has done this. It's a small rink, and they were having problems with the ice that day. The zamboni was a John Deere lawn tractor with a zamboni attachment, and it took the guy over 30 minutes to clean the ice. However, out of the three (Meg, Sara, and myself) there was only one fall. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't me. Of course I didn't set any land speed records on the ice, either.

We left Wednesday morning drove back in rain most of the way, but we made it back before the nasty weather kicked in. Ice and snow, and we didn't even get it that bad. I really felt for the people stuck on the interstates and in the airport terminals. Thursday was spent wrapping presents and doing some around-the-house kinds of things.

Friday afternoon, I got the urge to go out and get "just one more thing" for my three girls. The whole time I'm venturing into the Cool Springs area, I'm thinking, "you're an idiot for getting into this mess at 2:30 in the afternoon on Christmas Eve!" but it wasn't too bad. I went to 4 different places before getting everything, then got back at about 4:00. We changed clothes and then went to church for the Christmas Eve service. Because of everyone's schedules this year, we didn't go to the bride's parents' house on Christmas Eve as usual, so this was our first Christmas Eve service at church since we had been married. It was nothing short of spectacular. We're so blessed to be living in this area with all the musical talent surrounding us. We found out that the guy who regularly plays keyboards on Sunday morning used to tour with Air Supply and Cher. And Billy Ray Cyrus, a fellow Peoples Church member, sang to close out the service.

So we got home after church and watched "Elf" again. Great movie. The girls got in bed, and we waited up a little before putting the Santa presents out. Meg's phone had been fully charged. We turned it on and hid it under the couch for the next morning.

While opening Santa presents, we could tell that Meg was beginning to wonder about the inequity of things. When Sara opened her aquarium, the look on Meg's face was bordering on funny. At a little before 8:00, the cell phone rang. I looked at the bride and said, "Honey what's your phone doing under the couch?" I reached under the couch and pulled it out. I said, "This isn't yours!" Meg realized it was hers and immediately squealed. The bride said, "Meg, aren't you going to answer it?" We got a few good pictures of the shock. Classic.

On Sunday we went to church that morning and then on to the bride's parents' house that evening. Jeff and Ellen have a new puppy, and Will brought Caity. Everyone ate to excess and had a great time together. It was an old tradition with a new date, and it worked out just fine.

Yesterday, my last day of vacation before coming back to work, we got Sara some fish at "Fins" in Franklin. She's really excited about her new pets - an angelfish, a mated pair of swordtails, and a molly. Last night, Sara went to a friend's house to spend the night, and the bride, Meg and I went to the mall to return some things. The crowds weren't as bad as I had anticipated, and we were able to do the exchanges.

Now it's back to normal for me. The week should be pretty laid back, so it's a good chance to clean out some files and stuff. It's good to be able to come back to work and not dread the job. It's one of the many things for which I'm very thankful. However, I'm more thankful for my family, and to be able to spend time with people I love and to have them love me back.

No comments: