TOTW64: My Favorite Part of the Holiday Season

Above is a picture from Easter of 2009.

Before we moved to North Carolina, my favorite part of the holiday season was always the quality time spent with friends and family.  On Halloween, my dear friends Talib and Olivia have hosted a haunted house for years.  I have always been the scary witch at the end right before the big scare!  Our haunted houses are legendary!  I have literally brought grown men to their knees (keep your mind out of the gutter).

On Christmas Eve, they host a wonderful dinner at their home for about a dozen people.  We eat a course and then go to the living room to share our talents.  Over the years, people have shared art, poetry, stories, crocheted projects, sewing projects, photography, etc.  Some have brought lessons.  It’s warm and friendly and beautiful.

Before they began including me in their holiday celebrations, I would go to my sister’s house on Christmas Eve, and help her wrap presents for the kids.  I’d be there in the mornings, to watch them open their gifts.  I watched as my two year old nephew got frustrated when he couldn’t seem to get his two tractor trailers to point in the same direction.  He had one in the other, but facing the wrong way.  Rather than turning it around and putting it back, he’d pick it up and turn his whole body around, then put it back exactly as it had been.  My sister and I cackled with glee!

I was there when her four-year-old daughter unwrapped a “Princess Dora the Explorer” Doll and exclaimed, “We’re rich!”

Later in the morning, all of my siblings, and a few chosen family would gather at my parents’ house.  Being in California, a few minor modifications made dinner on the back porch comfortable and accommodating.  My dad has installed table and chair sets like those you’d find outside a walk-up style restaurant.  My mom converted a table and benches to a corner booth.  There is an 8 foot folding table with benches, and another just for food and supplies!  Plenty of seating.  The porch is enclosed, so a heater kept us warm enough.

My sisters and I would gather around the food, and catch up on various stories.  We’d all reminisce, while watching Papa play with the grand kids.  As the one with no tired kids to drag home, I would help mom carry the food into the house.  I’d make sure it all found its way to the fridge or to leftover plates for friends who were too ill to make it.  I’d help mom with the dishes, and by the time we were done, I was ready for a nap.  That meant driving back to Sacramento, which was about a 40 minute drive.

All of our holidays were like this.  Easter, Thanksgiving, etc.  For Halloween, my mom would put on a backyard carnival for the grand kids.  We’d all participate: hiding Easter eggs, having serious talks with the kids about behavior issues.

We are our own village.

My parents’ health is declining.  Hell, my siblings, cousins, and my health are declining.  No more Easter Egg Hunts or Halloween Carnivals.  I miss it all so much, and can’t wait to be back to enjoy a few more holidays with my beautiful patchwork family.

Good news I received today:  Social Security Disability payments will begin January 15, and are almost as much as I was making before I got sick!