Suzy Q Homemaker

Is it a Christmas miracle that I didn’t get sick with whatever stomach virus tore its way through my family like a disgusting hurricane?  I think so!

Is it a Christmas miracle that I have not put on my fancy coat over my nightgown and checked myself into a hotel for a few days without telling anyone?  I think so!

Oh, woops.  I just referenced the Ya Ya movie for the second time in the past week.  I’ve only watched it three times this year, so it’s not like I’m addicted to it.  Heck, I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve watched available Harry Potter DVD movies, to the point that my friend called me out in church this morning for talking about Dumbledore and his magic wand microphone.

We have completed four out of five family gatherings, the last of which we will attend the afternoon of January the second.  Today’s Christmas was at my grandmother’s house; it is an event saturated with tradition:

• the obligatory “Ooo Ahhh” over each gift opened
• the chex mix
• the mandatory phone call from my transgender aunt from California

and my personal favorite:

• the end of the gathering when my grandmother pulls out a box full of the newest toys from the Oriental Trading Company

Wars have ensued over the toys, and they have almost always involved something that requires launching.  It started one year with a bingo game that turned into an overzealous tiddly wink battle.  Small children had to leave the room because there were chips flying at top speed across the table so fast that you could have lost your eye if you’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Over the years, many things have been seen soaring across the room, from plastic frogs and balloon-powered helicopters, to ping pong type snow balls shot out of Santa Claus guns.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get toys that flew this year.  No, we got a box full of wind up mice and two battery-operated cats.  Only one of the mice traveled in a straight-ish line, and the others spun around in drunk circles.  Still fun, though.  The cats, on the other hand, were odd; one of them worked but sounded like a dog, and the other stopped working after a minute and then smelled like burnt rubber.  We turned it off before there were flames involved.  After all, we don’t need any more danger than there already is at Christmastime.

Related posts:

1. Cabin Fever Already?
2. The Littlest Christmas Tree

Tags: christmas, family stuff

One Response to “Halfway through Christmas Vacation and I’m Still Alive”

Reply Below:

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail