Yay for Christmas. Seriously. It is nice. This is my 20th, and I think I'm getting pretty good at it. So I am reflecting on those of my past. I realize now this would be more appropriate for my personal journal, since it's not very interesting, mostly just sentimental, but whatever.
Memories and such:I've lived in the same house (same bedroom, actually) all my life, so Christmas morning was always the same. The only Christmas I remember before Gabe was old enough to be excited about it was when my mom made me this gorgeous princess dress with silk and pearls and it was awesome. I threw up all over it. Nathan said I was faking.
Oh, I also remember the Christmas I noticed Santa used the same wrapping paper as my mom. I was really excited, and rushed to inform her that Santa thought our house was so awesome, he wrapped all the presents for everyone in the whole world in our living room. From that point on, Santa's presents were left unwrapped.
After that, Christmases were the same. On Christmas Eve we'd have a big dinner, and then each kid got to open one present just to get a little excitement going. I'd fall asleep around 12 and wake up at like 4:30 or 5am and be completely unable to get back to bed. Gabe, four years younger than me, had already been up for an hour or two at that point, so I'd go in this bedroom and read him Christmas stories. It was a pretty sweet little system. We read for
eternity (or like an hour) before starting to pace up and down the upstairs hallway. We were not under any circumstances allowed to take even one step downstairs. Eventually my parents would wake up (or be rudely woken up) and would go downstairs to "make coffee" i.e. play Santa. Then we had to wait at the top of the stairs for Nathan (five years older than me) to wake up. Then we'd get ready to run downstairs, but of course, Nathan just
had to shower. Damn.
Finally, we would all make it downstairs, where the door to the living room (with tree) was closed, but stockings were in plain view. We'd spend ten minutes or so tearing through them. Usually only the top few inches had anything worthwhile in them, because beyond that, Santa got lazy and just filled them with oranges and walnuts. I'm pretty sure the walnuts I got when I was 4 are the same ones I got this morning.
Heading into the living room, Santa's presents were all laid out in a huge presentation on the couches, in three piles: dolls and pretty things, trains and trains and trains, and sports stuff. We'd indulge in that for a while, then we'd dig into the real presents with wrapping paper to rip off and stuff. SWEET.
Christmas was awesome.
I got a mini trampoline one year. That was great.
This year, (similar to the last few), we are somewhat less enthusiastic. Christmas Eve dinner last night with my mom and Grandmaman, a full night of sleep, a rude awakening from Gabe at about 7:15, heading downstairs for coffee (for real now) and breakfast (gotta get my grains in, you know) and then waiting for Grandmaman and Nathan to get here an hour or two later. The stockings are not thrilling, but sentimental as ever. There are no Santa presentations, and not too many presents to rip off paper from. Still, it smells like Christmas and the animals can feel the excitement and the happiness and my mom and Nathan don't yell at each other and Grandmaman gets creeped out and throws a little fit when we try to give her a back massage chair thing, which was exactly the reaction we were hoping for.
The sky is completely overcast. It's probably in the high sixties. Seventy according to weather.com. So no white Christmas, but I think it would just be weird to have snow on Christmas. That's just not how it's supposed to be, not when you've spent nineteen previous very green Christmases in Vero Beach, Florida.
Soon we'll go over to my dad's house and open presents there. It will be a huge deal. Dad and Jann love to spend money at Christmas time. I know what Gabe's getting, and he is so spoiled. Jann said she thinks my present is better, but I didn't ask for anything, so I really have no clue as to what it is that could top Gabe's (I can't say what it is because he's been known to read this). Then of course, because one huge meal isn't enough for two days, we will have a dinner of terror over there. I'm sure it will be delicious, but there's just so much of it. It's scary.
I really wish I could spend a part of today with Jon. It's just such a sentimental day for me (it kind of has to be or it would have no point, seeing as I couldn't give a shit about Jesus), it would be nice to be with him.
Also, meal plan 100% yesterday for anyone who cares! Yay me!
Labels: Christmas, family, vero beach
