With just two more sleeps until Christmas,
the excitement around town is kicking up a few notches every day – especially for
the kids and teens. I’ll include myself
in that group; though being fired up doesn’t really have anything to do with
finding out what Santa is going to leave under our tree this year. It’s the family and friends time that I’m
loving a lot – and that’s what I spent most of my time doing today.
Starting out with Tai Chi this morning was
good; Mom and I had another work around the kitchen morning; and then I was
free to play with Michael, Tim, and Rowen for most of the afternoon. The rain had moved on by then, and it was
only a bit cooler than it has been the past couple of days; so wandering around
outside was an option. We would have
taken Ethan and Ehlana along with us; but they had other plans for the
afternoon with Mom at the lab that they picked over the play time with us.
It could be that I’m not the only kid in
the family in need of some time away from our overly-responsible parents; but
then it’s already too late for the twins too – and they do get to have lots of
fun with their friends on a regular basis.
We’ll have some play time with all four of them tomorrow – Ehlana and
Naomi definitely want to go shopping tomorrow; and even Ethan and Aiden won’t
have a problem with the Olde Bakery visit to get our Santa-approved cookies and
reindeer treats.
Today, our little outdoor adventure wasn’t
much more than a bike ride to and around the park; a stop at the Emporium for
snacks and hot chocolate; and a bit of hang-out time by the falls with a few
other teens and friends. That might not
sound very exciting, but we had fun; and then Michael and I needed to get ready
for the Christmas dinner party that Dad and Aunt Leanne were hosting for
work. After the chores and play time, I
wanted to hit the shower too before getting dressed up, so I did that; and then
Ehlana and I had some hair-play and dress-up fun before eventually meeting up
with Mom, Dad, Michael, and Ethan in the living room.
The dinner was mostly to thank Claire and
her family for another year of Claire’s work there; but Dad and Aunt Leanne
also invited some other friends – suppliers or clients. That was a fairly short list, since most of
their suppliers were store owners who weren’t able to attend because of being
busy for the last two days before Christmas; but that was okay with me. I got to have dinner with Michael, Lucas, and
Rebecca; and the four of us had fun taking care of Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and
Aiden with a little help from Emma and Benjamin Norton at the table next to us
with the rest of the kid, tween, and teen guests.
Dinner was pre-ordered with everything from
appetizers to dessert picked by everyone in advance; so we pretty much just sat
back and enjoyed the food and companionship for a couple of hours. There were secret Santa gifts and little
entertainment packs for the kids that all of the teens played with too; and the
adults got to be mostly kid-free so that they could enjoy their meal too. Dad didn’t do anything flashy at the dinner
to thank Claire or anyone else – he doesn’t believe in drawing that kind of
attention to himself. They took care of
Claire’s bonus and real gift in private.
Dinner was the highlight of the day for me,
but Michael and I didn’t get to stay for the end of it because we needed to be
at the church for our teen praise team practice. Yes, the big concert is over now, but we’re
doing the Sunday service for the Christmas holiday weekend too; and needed to
practice those songs tonight – especially since we didn’t work on them during
the last two practices while gearing up for the concert. That was fun, but I guess the big news from
that hour and a half of fun for Michael and me is that Stacey asked us to whip
up another duet for the Christmas Eve service – a last-minute add-on to the
program due to popular demand. I have
mixed feelings about that, but saying no wasn’t really an option; and I do
really love singing and playing with Michael.
After our practice, I went home with
Michael, and we got to hang out with Jake, Stephanie, Violet, Dillon, Rebecca,
and Lucas for a while – until Lucas went home with his family after they’d
finished a round of in-town visits while they were away from the farm anyway. That was probably close to the most time I
spent with Violet and Dillon so far this holiday; or at least it was when we
weren’t competing for time with other members of our family. We pretty much just sat around and listened
to Christmas music while chatting about everything from Christmas to college
and weddings; and that was a perfect change to wind down from another busy day
for me – even if there wasn’t much in the way of Michael and me alone time
before I came home for the night.
On the Jake and Stephanie wedding front, I’ll
only mention that they are talking about it a lot with the parents and their
best friends; but will be waiting until next week to start making any major
decisions about things like a date for the wedding next summer. They will need to get some things done before
heading back to New York; but I’m sure they’ll get everything worked out. They are fairly motivated – and who wouldn’t
be at the prospect of spending a lot of your first year of marriage in southern
Europe. Yes, they’ll be studying too;
but they’ll also have lots of holiday and weekend opportunities to play.
I’d be okay with spending next winter with
them in Europe; though I seriously doubt that the parents would approve letting
Michael and I take a year off of high school to do that – even if we could home
school ourselves easily enough if we wanted to play at being students while we
were away.
That’s actually a fairly happy little
thought to take with me into dreamland, and I don’t really have any other news
for tonight; so let’s do the Christmas music video pick for tonight and I’ll
get right to exploring those not-going-to-really-happen scenarios!
Here’s another of those Christmas songs
that tug at the heart; and reminds us about what we should be focused on at
Christmas – and during the rest of the year too.
May the Magi Force be with you!
