stevenpiziks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stevenpiziks) wrote2023-12-25 11:16 am
stevenpiziks) wrote2023-12-25 11:16 am
The Holidays 2023
The holidays were a bit strange this year. My brother Paul is gone, and this is the first season without him. Additionally, my sister Bethany lives out of state now, and holiday travel is always difficult, stressful, and expensive. With all that in mind, we decided to have a combined Thanksgiving and Christmas/Yule in mid-December at my mother's. There would be light present-giving (i.e., a few presents, and no major extravaganza--we're all fairly well-off adults who buy what we need or want when we need or want it, which makes gift-giving tricky) and food and people.
Because of the non-Christmas date, we had people come who wouldn't normally be there. My cousins David and Mark, with their spouses Suzelle and Tamara came. So did Anja, Mark and Tamara's daughter. And cousins Iris and Susie and Aunt Sue from my father's side of the family happened to be passing through the area, so they stopped in as well. I think Paul's death had an impact here. It reminded everyone that any time we see each other, it could be the last. There's no more, "Well, I'll just see him next time" for Paul, and any of us could be next. So this year, everyone made a special effort to visit. It was bittersweet, both missing Paul and seeing everyone else.
After all the extended family left, it was me, Darwin, Bethany, Mom, and her husband Gene. We cleaned up and then played euchre, a long-standing Michigan tradition. Euchre is for four people and there were five of us, but we compensated by having the extra person take over the seat of anyone who got up to go to the bathroom or get a nibble from the kitchen. We all can play so well that it's easy enough to pick up where someone else left off. It was immediate family bonding time, a continuation of processing Paul's absence.
And then home.
We also planned a winter celebration at our house for the younger generation. Max and Aran and Sasha and Shane and his fiancée Britney (and incubating baby Ben) all came over for food and gifts and socializing. The gift hit of the day was a video I gave to Aran. It was Tara Strong, his favorite actress, in a video she had recorded just for him, using the voices of Harley Quinn and Raven, Aran's favorite characters of hers. I got it through the site Cameo.com , which is an enormously fun site, I have to say. I bought Sasha and Maksim a cartload of groceries, the stuff that's annoying and expensive to buy but must be done, like laundry detergent and dishwasher soap and cleaning fluids and such. And also lots of easy-to-make foods. They were appreciative.
Today Darwin and I are popping over to say hello to Noah, our grandson, who is really sick today and couldn't come yesterday. Maybe a visit from Grandpas with Gifts will cheer him up!
And so winds up a rather odd holiday.
Because of the non-Christmas date, we had people come who wouldn't normally be there. My cousins David and Mark, with their spouses Suzelle and Tamara came. So did Anja, Mark and Tamara's daughter. And cousins Iris and Susie and Aunt Sue from my father's side of the family happened to be passing through the area, so they stopped in as well. I think Paul's death had an impact here. It reminded everyone that any time we see each other, it could be the last. There's no more, "Well, I'll just see him next time" for Paul, and any of us could be next. So this year, everyone made a special effort to visit. It was bittersweet, both missing Paul and seeing everyone else.
After all the extended family left, it was me, Darwin, Bethany, Mom, and her husband Gene. We cleaned up and then played euchre, a long-standing Michigan tradition. Euchre is for four people and there were five of us, but we compensated by having the extra person take over the seat of anyone who got up to go to the bathroom or get a nibble from the kitchen. We all can play so well that it's easy enough to pick up where someone else left off. It was immediate family bonding time, a continuation of processing Paul's absence.
And then home.
We also planned a winter celebration at our house for the younger generation. Max and Aran and Sasha and Shane and his fiancée Britney (and incubating baby Ben) all came over for food and gifts and socializing. The gift hit of the day was a video I gave to Aran. It was Tara Strong, his favorite actress, in a video she had recorded just for him, using the voices of Harley Quinn and Raven, Aran's favorite characters of hers. I got it through the site Cameo.com , which is an enormously fun site, I have to say. I bought Sasha and Maksim a cartload of groceries, the stuff that's annoying and expensive to buy but must be done, like laundry detergent and dishwasher soap and cleaning fluids and such. And also lots of easy-to-make foods. They were appreciative.
Today Darwin and I are popping over to say hello to Noah, our grandson, who is really sick today and couldn't come yesterday. Maybe a visit from Grandpas with Gifts will cheer him up!
And so winds up a rather odd holiday.