Monday, December 1, 2008

Post-Holiday Quiet


It snowed last night, just enough to cover the ground and roads. It was our first snow of the season and a fitting way to end the holiday week-end. My house, like the yard, is blanketed with quiet.

It is wonderful to have grown children home for the holidays. My oldest son and his girlfriend drove up from Boston Wednesday night, with a homemade apple pie and wine for Thursday's dinner. It was a treat for me to watch my sons catch up with each other, hearing about what's been going on in their lives. Their conversations are different with each other than with me, and I enjoy the chance to see them together.

Dinner on Thursday was wonderful. I was organized this year and had made the rolls, pies, sweet potato casserole, and a batch of cookies the day before. I even bought donuts for breakfast so we could have a leisurely morning, making oatmeal and eating cereal as people were hungry. Between breakfast and dinner there was a parade to watch, football games to follow, snacks to eat, and a cribbage game at the kitchen table. The remaining side dishes and turkey cooked without incident, and dinner was delicious.

My daughter was on 24-hour call at the hospital through Thanksgiving night, so she was unable to join us Thursday. We thought ahead and made plans for all of us to have brunch on Friday at a local restaurant, which turned out to be the perfect solution. No one had to plan a meal or cook. We could each order what sounded good and visit while we waited for the food. We talked about everything, from politics to cell phones. We shared stories and laughed and enjoyed being together.

Back at the house I put away clean dishes while everyone else continued a Rummikub game started the night before at the kitchen table. I chuckled to myself while I watched my sons and husband joke around. I smiled to see my daughter talking with my son's girlfriend ~ two women who share different aspects of my son's life.

After a dinner of turkey leftovers, it was time for P and C to drive back to Boston. Hugs all around and they were on their way. It will be a while before we are all together again because C will spend Christmas with her family in California.

There is nothing better than having my family all in one place. It is something I have never taken for granted. When my children were younger, there was enough time. Now that we are a family of adults, we make time to be together. While my children are my favorite people, they have their own lives. I am glad they like to come home and enjoy being with each other. I could not be more proud of each one of them or more grateful for the time we spend together.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

A contrast in post-holiday quiet – Today the Chihuahuan Desert of southwest NM is 65 degrees with robin egg blue skies, a few wispy clouds, a light breeze, visibility of 50 miles in all directions, the quiet disturbed only by the occasional quail, sparrow or roadrunner calling out.

Glad you were blessed to have all the kids at home for the holiday. Enjoy the temporary quiet and time to regroup. Just a few weeks and you will all gather again to make more memories.

CaShThoMa said...

Your Thanksgiving holiday sounds like it was wonderful. So nice to be with family sharing tasty food and conversation. Love it!

Anonymous said...

I love it how your wise choices created the space/time for such great connecting time. It gave me pleasure to read about the relaxed pace of your long weekend (and I wondered who prevailed in the various games).

Anonymous said...

Sounds perfect!