The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

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NorthFLChick said:
Good for her on the internship, that will be great experience. Heck, just living in the Manhattan area would be an education I would guess.
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She is going to do the daily commute from NJ - another education in itself. She had a similar 'summer' situation, but that was only twice a week. Good to learn the realities of life.
 
Christmas was great here. It always is. The grandkids know what it's about and there's always a rousing chorus of "Joy to the World" which seems to be their favorite Christmas Carol. Mine too, truth be told. And they take turns telling the story of the Charlie Brown tree, which brings the meaning of Christmas home to them in a personal way they can understand. Kendra just likes the Candy Canes.

But I always have a little twinge, too, remembering those who aren't celebrating with us. My beloved Ma, buried on a snowy Christmas Eve. The fact that the church was packed, standing room only, on such a busy day and in such inclement weather says more about her than I ever could. And Austin. There's a special story about the first Christmas he and his new wife Joy shared. Joy has since remarried and she and new hubby James just welcomed baby Rebekah into the world in September. Their Christmas card this year was a photo of the three of them sporting fake mustaches, a poignant reminder that Austin is still with them in their hearts. Jamie and Rachel, along with their two little ones Landyn and Madelyn, are back in Chicago. And Little Diane and her new hubby Dustin are starting their own Christmas traditions while blending some of ours - the ones she grew up with when she and Jamie lived with us all those years. She recreated the Charlie Brown tree exactly as her great-grandmother started it - with a branch from her back yard standing in a coffee can, leaning in the corner, with a few silly ornaments on it. Dustin's mother looked at it like it was an appalling decoration and told her it looked silly there. Right then and there Little Diane moved it...from the corner to center stage on the dining room table. Then she told his parents why there would always be a Charlie Brown tree in her house. THAT'S my girl!

Hardest this year was not sharing at least part of Christmas with daughter Terrin. In the past, no matter what was going on in her life, she called...she sent a card....she posted on my FB page. But this fall she posted a message that talked about how cruel we were to her when she was growing up. It was an awful tirade, full of half truths and out and out lies. Her "friends" of course, commiserated with her and aggravated the entire situation. The next post was simply, "Aside from my son Jamie, I have no family. I don't want them in my life. It's the life they screwed up and I can't fix any of it if they still exist, so to me they are all dead." Despite knowing that it is her mental illness speaking, it hurt. But because we've gone through this kind of thing with her for decades, we still bundled up her gifts, wrote her a nice letter, tucked in pictures and a check, added her usual tin of peanut brittle and mailed it off the first week in December. We got it back unopened, marked "Refused" on Christmas Eve. I can't change it...if love was enough to fix everything she'd never have been sick in the first place. But I'll be 65 next week. She'll be 45 in 2 weeks. We can't go back, and she won't go forward, so we're at a stalemate. I can't spend the years I have left fretting over things I have no control over, so this time I'll wait. I'll be here when she's ready, but I'm not going to waste precious time trying to put the genie back in the bottle again. We all prayed for her. I hope she felt it and knows we love her.

Other than that fly in the ointment, and every family has at least one somewhere (or will have someday) it was a glorious two day celebration of the joy (and boo-boos) of family and renewed hope. In the end it's not about us anyway, is it?
 
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I'm sorry. Didn't mean to be a downer! We're very used to this, but this was the first time it fell over Christmas! Now wake up, everybody!!!! Need a little humor here! Have you heard the story of the end of my gingerbread coop?
 
Can we have a moment of silence for my gingerbread coop please? ***************************************************************** Thank you. He met his unfortunate demise this afternoon at the family pie exchange and it was something to see. First he got too close the edge of the table while I was making room for all the pie plates, forks, and accoutrements. Then, Katie reached over him for the whipped cream and bumped him a little closer to the edge. And then, then....oh, it's so unbearable....I tried to rescue him before he fell off the table and I knocked him the rest of the way off. There was a collective intake of breath from all seated, and we watched as in slow motion he headed for the floor. His was not a graceful death. He hit the floor and more or less exploded as he bounced once, twice, then settled into a funny looking upside position partway under the table.

Poor Katiebug - she looked up at me in horror, and tears filled her big blue eyes. "Oh, Gramma....I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..." and then her heartbreaking sobs started. It took her a few minutes to realize that all of us at the table had tears in our eyes, too. Couldn't help it - we were all laughing so hard we were crying right along with her. Oh, it was a glorious end. Gumdrops and M&Ms rolling across the floor, shattered icing bits flying everywhere, coconut flakes dropping down into the heat register, and graham cracker crumbs filling the air - it was hilarious! But the funniest part of all was the stupid toy chicken, stuck beak first into the sticky gumdrop window pane! Katie was mortified, but then a little smile cracked through the tears, and it grew and grew until she was laughing with the rest of us. Oh, did she get a giant Gramma hug! Then I yelled at everyone in the room, "Don't TOUCH it!!" and I ran for my camera. Naturally it was still in the case, buried under everyone's coats on the bed. I unburied it, got it out of the case and turned it on as I ran back to the kitchen so it would be ready, only to see my helpful hubby with the trash can next to the table, the big pieces already disposed of, and a broom and dustpan in his hands! "Doggone it, Ken - put that broom back!" His reply, "Why? Are you going somewhere?"

Can we have a moment of silence for my husband, please? ******************************************** Thank you. He met his unfortunate demise .............................
 
Well done on Ken's part, and a true climatic end to the gingerbread house. There's always next year.





Were you going somewhere?
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Blooie, sorry for the family situation, I hope it didn't put too big of a cloud over your holiday. You did what you could and that's all you can control.

You wanted funnies?




There, now you have some jokes about my family, lol. We all have them, your story is very similar to my own. Hugs
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