School starts in about two weeks. I'm working on getting materials prepared for classes. I've changed a few books this semester and it's been interesting getting up to speed on everything. Every year before school starts I just get so anxious. Thinking about how completely well Christmas went is soothing.
So Bobby ended up making all of the food for the dinner (didn't want to contaminate the food with my cold). It was pretty amazing of him. The family gave him a standing ovation at one point, which he certainly earned.
We spent pre-Christmas with Patrice & Co. (Joe, Jess, Jim, and Kate). We had a lovely dinner at this charming restaurant in Delray (it's called Dada. We actually play there a lot, so it was fun to go there in a kind of more formal way). It was fabulous.
Christmas morning we were supposed to get together with my mom and sisters, but my youngest sister was sick, so we skipped it and we're going to have Christmas morning on New Years Day instead. This is interesting because I still have some Christmas left to look forward to. I mean, I'm not happy Anna was sick, of course, but yeah. It's kind of exciting.
All in all I can't really believe how well Christmas went. In my experience, Christmas is always the time of the year when people melt down, crises occur, and nothing works out. This is the reason Christmas hasn't ever been my favorite holiday. Things have to be "perfect" and I'm really too well aware that nothing in life is perfect.
That was one of the nicest things about having the dinner at our place. We got our first Christmas tree. We had food. We kept things, I think anyway, rather low key (or at least ish), which isn't to say that my family is formal or anything; they aren't - they are wonderful, loving, warm, effusive people and I'm so happy they've continued the tradition of having everyone get together each year.
But we've got, you know, a bloody hand from Halloween still stuck up on our bathroom mirror. We have weird pictures in the living room (including a painting of a turtle/zombie eating brains above the TV). And none of them seemed to mind (or at least they didn't let on that this stuff bothered them). I guess what I'm saying is that I felt like everyone accepted us in a way that I've never felt before. They loved the house. They stayed late.
And when Bobby missed their first standing ovation, they called him inside and did it again.
