… and Dave’s at work. Along with about 10% of the rest of the population, gauging by the freeway, the parking lot, and the closed offices across the hall from me …
Our holidays were fine. Things started off a bit rocky when Katherine started throwing up about 11 p.m. Christmas Eve, and continued with her wishes for “Peas on Urp” until about 3 a.m. Needless to say, neither Margie nor I got much sleep, though we became pretty adept at catching (in some fashion other than “bodily intercepting”) the pretty-colored holiday display. I mean, peas and raspberries — what better green and red decor could one want?
She was doing better finally Christmas morning, and, after informing Daddy, “You stay here” (indicating the egg crate pad I was sleeping on next to her cot), she proceeded to lock the door behind her and toddle downstairs.
Margie and I followed not too much long after, and had a sleepy but fufilling gift opening with the Ks.
Kitten crashed for a nap (followed, a while later, by myself and Ginger, Margie’s mom), which meant we missed gift exchange at my folks’ house. Margie’s brother, the Doctor, declined to speculate whether Kitten had a virus or was simply reacting to having eaten too much whilst running around like a maniac with her two cousins. The jury is still out on that one — she seems a little under the weather, but no repeats (so to speak) on the vomit front.
By the time Kitten woke back up, four hours later, we instead were ready to head out to my brother’s house for Christmas dinner. We got the instructions on how to get there (John & Paula having chosen to live at Rancho Del Labyrinthe in beeyooteeful Fontana), and raced on up, bags and boxes in the trunk.
Dinner was nice — Katherine got to play with her cousins Robbie and Sean, Joe and his new wife Julie and her daughter Melonie were there, as were Paula’s parents, Cookie and Robert, and my Nona. Lots more gifts thrown around, lots of good food chowed down …
… and then off on the last leg of the annual Christmas Triangle. Margie’s brother’s family usually does a Christmas dinner, too, which the Ks attend along with the sister-in-law-in-law’s family. Mercifully, rather than being at Eric and Janine’s house in Beverly Hills (very nice, but about 80 miles from John and Paula), it was at the Dell-imagines’ house in Orange, a few blocks from the Ks. We got there in time for a yummy dessert, followed by more gift-giving, then off to bed for all.
And what, you may ask, did I get from the grand swag-fest?
Well … lots of stuff. Clothes (I’m long past the stage where getting clothes for Christmas is like getting a lump of coal — “Look, Dave, Nona and Nono bought you some socks!”). Books. Knicknacks and ornaments, some of it truly lovely. Some computer games (good thing, too, since I just finished off Quake II in a blaze of anticlimactic glory). A new brief case (not yet moved into). Margie got me a huge vase (which did not come to California). A few gifts that will likely get recycled to a new home (but which are welcome nonetheless).
The biggest gift — aside from the good company and love and being with my wife and child — was actually one I gave. More on that in a following post …
Glad you managed to get through the vomiting and all. Hope Kitten’s doing better now!
(Thanks for your kind words on my “Not” post!)
Least I could do — particularly being a once-ex myself.
Like mother, like daughter. I can’t remember how many Christmas’ that Margie has been under the weather. And don’t feed her ceviche under any circumstances.
>…in beeyooteeful Fontana…
>…it was…in Orange…
Passed right through Riverside on your way, didja, Dave? Hmmm?
😉
Yeah, at about 80 mph.
Oh, wait. That was on I-15. On the 91, it was at about 25 mph. I could have called you and you could have waved …