Christmas 2025

This has been a mostly wonderful Christmas.  If the truth be told though, I'm physically exhausted and emotionally drained.  It all just feels like a lot.

Our Christmas Eve plans were scrapped as our friends' kids started getting sick.  We were disappointed as we love our time with them, and we love to see their kids from out of town.  And we also had literally nothing in the house that would feed seven people for dinner!  Domino's Pizza solved that problem though, and the kids all gathered here by 6:00.

Catherine had come with us to church, and it's always a challenge for me.  We go to a Catholic church because it is what needs to happen with my MIL, but I regret not being able to fully participated in the church, especially on Christmas.  It causes a pang.  I also saw a family I've known for a long-time, and I adore this large family, but I also know there is heartache there.  It left me feeling emotional.  I was so glad Catherine came with us though.

After the kids all arrived here after church, I gave our Christmas Eve gifts of pajama bottoms.  We played an incredibly fun trivia game, and then we watched the Polar Express.  I don't love that move, but I do love when my kiddos (and wife and boyfriend) are all safely asleep in my home.  Our morning was also incredibly lovely, and I'm so grateful for the photos we took of our family.  We all loved the gifts from each other.  We were on the road before Noon for lunch at my Mom's house.  My sister went to visit my grandmother, and we sat down to eat as she returned.  Unfortunately, she was overcome with emotion and ran out of the house.  I get it, she is exhausted.  She worked tirelessly to get my Mom's house ready, it's an incredibly busy season at her job, and she is almost solely responsible for things that happen with my grandmother.  And today, Grandma was incredibly confused when my sister was there.  As my sister was dealing with her emotions, my mom and my MIL began to tell stories about the passing of other relatives, and suddenly there were a lot of tears.  I attempted to change the subject, but there was a damper on the afternoon.  Fortunately, my sister regrouped and we were able to finish with a lovely afternoon.  There were more gift exchanges, and it was all so very nice to be together.

We had all driven separately as the kids had other places to be, and I wanted to visit my grandmother.  She has chosen to stop wearing pants (ugh) so I am not in a rush to take others with me to visit her.  I took her some chocolate and we had a short visit.  It was a bit heartbreaking as I know with certainty this is going to be the last Christmas with my grandmother, and even though this isn't the woman I've known, and I know this isn't the woman she would want to be, it's going to be so awful when she's gone.  It was hard leaving her today, but it's also really hard being with her.  As I drove home, I thought of so many wonderful Christmas memories shared with her.

I am grateful for so, so much.  I am incredibly grateful that my kids woke up here today and I don't take it for granted at all.  I know this next year is going to bring some changes, and I'm working really, really hard to embrace them.  Truly, it's been a lovely Christmas, and even the emotions are because of how amazing my life really is.

Songs take me back

I am definitely a person who "feels" songs. I can hear a song and it can take me right back to what feels like a different lifetime.  Christmas is definitely a season where it happens often.  We've been listening to a lot of my grandparents' records on their old Admiral console stereo that we've had for 4-1/2 years.  They are traditional songs sung by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Irving Berlin, etc.  My heart has felt so full listening to these songs.

As I was driving home from my mom's house this evening, another song came on.  To back track a bit, I need to explain that my paternal grandmother's family gathered every year on the Sunday before Christmas.  I was the oldest great-grandchild.  I loved those gatherings.  They lasted through 1995, and I have absolutely wonderful memories from them.  Anyway, in 1992, we all traveled about an hour away as my great-aunt & great-uncle had moved to a lake house.  As we were driving home that day, the song "Daddy's Hands" by Holly Williams came on the radio.  I didn't love my first semester of college which had just finished, and I was so grateful to be home for break.  I was especially grateful to be home with my Dad with whom I was so very close.  I remember that song coming on, and I remember my eyes filling with tears in the car.  I was so very lucky to be my father's daughter.  As I was driving today, I realized the date, and realized it was exactly thirty-three years ago today...Dec. 20, 1992, that we had that Christmas celebration.  That's pretty ironic I would hear that song again this evening.

Andrew is off getting his mom tonight and they'll be back tomorrow.  I'm enjoying the quiet tonight.

So happy to get to school break, I thought I might cry

I had been counting down the days, then the hours, then even the minutes until school was going to be finished yesterday for break.  I don't think we had ever earned a break like we had this one.  Work has turned into a daily "what now?" situation.  We had one pop up at the end of the day Wednesday that required I put in an extra hour, we had ANOTHER one pop up in the morning before school even began, and then we had one that was a bit less of a surprise closer to the end of the day.  I felt weary to my core.  The hard part is that none of them can really be resolved right now.  Ugh.

We had a staff gathering at the end of the day, and I was happy to be there but was the first to leave.  It was a really wet and windy day, and although I was supposed to attend a meeting last night, I decided I was coming home and officially beginning my break.

I spent my day just kind of doing my own thing.  I wrapped a few presents, I cleaned a bit, I took a nap, I just kind of hung out and did my thing.  Maudie, the cat we inherited from my grandmother has been very clingy and wanted to curl up with me throughout the day.  Catherine had her last day at school and then left town for the weekend.  I've appreciated the relatively quiet day.

We got a bit of hard news today.  My sister informed us that this seven-day course of antibiotics will be the final antibiotic for my grandmother.  My grandmother has faded tremendously in the last couple of months.  Even if this round of antibiotics takes care of the current infection, it is recurrent and this life is not what my grandmother ever wanted.  She is 94 years-old, and I know that she will be ready whenever the time comes, as it's been apparent she's been ready for quite some time.  I'll be sad when she's gone, but honestly, she hasn't been the same woman for years.

Tomorrow, Andrew is going to get his mom, and I'm going up to my mom's.  Quite a bit to do over the next several days, but I'm so grateful to be on break!

It's been a lovely "snow" day

We were all home again today.  I think my boss had decided last night that she was going to close this morning, but she hated to make it official the night before.  The text came at 5:30 this morning that I'd be joining Andrew and Catherine here at home.

Of course, it didn't actually snow at all!  This is all still from Saturday's storm.  The issue is the temps have been so frigid that they can't get the roads clear.  There are even already some schools delaying for tomorrow, and it is very possible our public schools will be among them.  I'm certain my school will be in and on time, and since it will only be a three day week at this point, I don't mind at all.

I was able to get a couple of loads of laundry done, clean out a few things, and begin to wrap gifts.  Andrew has to work at the basketball game tonight, so it's a great time to get his gifts wrapped.  I've enjoyed my foresty candle, my lights, and the coziness of my warm home (for which I'm so grateful) as I've enjoyed the gorgeous views outside my windows.  This has really been a delightful and productive day!

I've loved this weekend

I have absolutely loved this weekend...and it may not be over yet!  It's really been special.

On Friday, my school had a two-hour delay and the public schools were closed.  Two-hour delays always make the days go by faster, especially on a Friday.  It wasn't a lot of snow, but it was just at the right amount, especially for the public schools that start busing at 5:30, meaning even a delay has the buses out at 7:30.

After I got off work, Andrew and I headed north to BGSU where the oldest daughter of our best friend was graduating from college.  It was about a three hour drive, and it was a blast to share a later dinner with them.  Yesterday we were thrilled to share their celebration by being at the ceremony, but as soon as the ceremony ended, we were ready to hit the road.  We were expecting a fairly major winter storm, and were hoping we could get ahead of things.  We most certainly did not.

It started snowing 1/2  hour into the trip, and it ended up taking an extra hour.  Even on the interstate and state routes, we were going 15-20 mph below the speed limit.  Andrew is an incredibly safe driver, and I never felt concerned or unsafe.  It was an absolutely gorgeous trip.  Since Andrew was driving, I took a lot of pictures.  There are a lot of evergreens along the drive and it was really beautiful.  We got home about 4:00 and were able to get things situated for a cozy night at home.  We watched a cute Christmas movie.  I kept checking the snow totals, and we ended up with over 6" when all was said and done.  And then it got COLD.  We are talking negative overnight lows.  Our pastor decided yesterday to go ahead and cancel services this morning, so we got to sleep in.

Things are still incredibly frozen here and very white.  The public schools have closed for tomorrow, and most neighboring districts around here have done the same.  My school is on a two-hour delay, but I expect we will close as well.  That means I'll only have a three-day work week as we are done on Thursday this week.  By Thursday though, there may not be much snow left as it will be in the upper 50's.  Good grief.  There is even a possibility of severe thunderstorms.  Crazy!  But for right now, it is cozy, and lovely, and a beautiful weekend in December!

Twenty years of parenting

Twenty years ago Andrew and I learned we were going to be parents.  I've purposely never written about it, but my kiddos are an adopted sibling group.  It was 20 years ago today that Andrew and I received the phone call that we were going to become parents.  It was, without a doubt, the greatest gift we ever received.  I can't believe that 20 years have gone by.  It has absolutely flown by.

Seventeen years of blogging

I started this blog 17 years ago!  I'm so grateful for each memory recorded here.  I especially love the December memories.  Eight more school days for me this calendar year.  I know that tomorrow is never promised, and I plan to soak up the holiday memories as much as I can this year...and hopefully I'll write about them here!