Christmas Morning began very early.
Mom and Dad and Daughters #1 and #2 were all at my house. I explained to all of them that this was an important day for me because it was the first one without Lovey on the premises.
(Last year was totally strange...we were separated as you will remember, but still under the same roof. [The state of Virginia permits this arrangement.] All my kids were there....Lovey was there...and me. We opened presents last year on December 23. On December 24, the kids and I headed off to our annual vacation in Sarasota, Florida...followed by Lovey on December 25. We were all STRESSED out....and it was just not a good time at all.)
I wanted this Christmas to be one of the best ever...simply because of the significance of my being by myself and this basically being the beginning of a new phase of my life.
The kids were pleased with all their "stuff"..... Mom and Dad were pleased with all of theirs. Me? I was just pleased to have them all with me. (Of course, it would have been nice to have some special hunk to snuggle with....and to share the day with....but one day --)
Then, the BIGGEST gesture of holiday spirit I could muster...I invited Mom O'Lovey and Lovey's niece, Amanda down. Amanda is like a third daughter to me...and she really doesn't have a good relationship with her mom/stepdad...or even with her dad/stepmom for that matter.
So there we were...in the glow of the Christmas lights....gathered around my dining room table....sharing breakfast on my new china. My mom was amused with Mom O'Lovey, because Mom O'Lovey is such a control freak.... So my mom just graciously backed away and allowed Mrs. O'Lovey to control whatever she felt she needed to in order to be happy.
The conversation was light...and no real stress.... Then, we all said our goodbyes...and they left. Mom O'Lovey had to be at her house (two blocks away) for Lovey's arrival. They had to be at the train station at 2:00 in order to load their car on the autotrain. They were headed to Florida for two weeks...and the train was scheduled to depart at 4:00 p.m.
My daughters went down to wish their mother a Merry Christmas and to give her some presents. But, as I had predicted privately to my mother, the girls wound up having to help their mom and grandma pack. They were stressed to the max....and just running around. The girls got them packed and off toward the autotrain.....at 1:50. Needless to say, they were late getting to the train station.
Finally, when their train steamed out of the station....and as they were happily chugging down the track, #1's cellphone rang. It was her grandma. Grandma had left her check book, would #1 send it to her via mail as quickly as possible? "Sure, Grandma." #1 cherrily replied....and hung up.
Ten minutes later, her cellphone rang again. This time Lovey needed for #1 to call one of her church members to get a telephone number of another church member. So, #1 had my house line on one ear....calling Fred, the church member, in order to get church member Charlotte's phone number; while on the other ear Lovey waited patiently.
It was a little comical to here my daughter say, "Fred? This is #1, Rev. Lovey's Daughter. She's on her way to Sarasota, but needs Charlotte's phone number. Can I get that from you?"
Well, with the information written down and repeated to Lovey....Lovey happily hung up.
Fred hung up.
#1 hung up.
So, sweetly I asked #1, "Why didn't your mom call Fred herself?"
#1 shook her head and said..."I just don't know."
A holiday mystery to solve on another day!
Lovey had left her white cat at her mother's house. The cat, aptly named SNOEE, was set to spend its vacation in the home of Baby Lovey and her husband. (Lovey's Baby Sister)
Now, dear readers, keep in mind that SNOEE used to live in my house and so I know SNOEE quite well.
SNOEE does not like men....even gay ones (me)!
SNOEE does not like to use a litter box for liquid evacuation. He does however use it for solid disposal...just doesn't cover it up. This is all translated that he pees everywhere.
SNOEE is blind in one eye.
SNOEE has arthritis and can hardly go up and down the stairs. Lovey never remembers to give it baby aspirin to make it more comfortable...but I digress.
Baby Lovey and her husband just lost their cat, Alex, just before Christmas. So Lovey thought that taking care of SNOEE would ease them through the pain of their loss. (I'll say. Since they live in a palace....after Snoee christens the carpet a few times, they may be sending it to Sarasota in a few days!)
So, Baby Lovey were coming to Mom O'Lovey's house to pick up SNOEE.
They had no plans for Christmas Dinner. They have no children of their own.
Hmmmmm.....why don't we have them over for diner we thought!
#1 called, invited and they accepted.
And we had a grand time.
We laughed....we talked...and NO stress.
This was momentous for me because we had not hosted any substantive gatherings in my house since 1995. The house was always a wreck. Lovey was always stressed when we had company. She was never happy.
What a neat way to begin this new stage of my life....
It also doesn't hurt that they LOVED the house and all that I had done to it.
I'm sure that Lovey will get a full scale report...
and that's okay.
Oh, and Snoee is all safe and warm!
No comments:
Post a Comment