Fibulous Christmas!

It is the kind of day that we like best. Mr. Husband and Mrs. Wife got up around 9:30 to make ourselves a little bit Wii Fitter and then we settle down, he at his Xbox (Fable2) and me at my book (Thomas Hardy) with dictionary on lap. The two cats, Bonita Banana and Oliver Pants, play at our feet with their new Christmas mice and the cat tree we bought them for super-cat-all-the-time-climb-on-me enjoyment. Our in-law Christmas is over and still warm in our heads. We had a big old-fashioned family Christmas with the Stewarts, good drama included.

Before we get to the big old-fashioned family Christmas, we had a homecoming and Christmas miracle as Moser visited us on Sunday evening for wine, dinner, and lots and lots of programming speak. Moser is the one who is lost to us but found in Wine Country—our San Francisco buddy who I miss for the gossip and the wild stories and Jeff misses for the constant talk about geek stuff. He always brings cheer and walked in the door this year with three bottles of Napa Valley happiness. Cheery us!
So we fed him. He was excited to see the world from the blog—the world he reads about (or, actually, just looks at the photos)—and he was part of that world for about five hours. I made a pasta dinner and we drank a bottle of good wine and then sat before a crowd of liquor bottles, testing our little Mikasa cordial glasses (thank you Maja and Petar). We think we found the proper liquor in Grand Marnier. If not, we sure did laugh a lot and often and some more. Love my perfect little glasses for every occasion and any liquid.

We hurried ourselves down the road on Wednesday evening to the Candlelight service at church and then straight to the Stewarts in Riverchase for a proper family gathering. Mrs. Mother-in-Law prepared a fabulous spread of ham, biscuits, hummus, cheese, and Mr. Husband’s favorite peanut butter fudge. All seven of us settled down around midnight for our Christmas Eve nap. All of us—so we thought. Out on the driveway, youngest brother Chris stepped out for a smoke around 2:00 am. Slippery was the driveway and steep under his feet. He toppled and cracked his fibula and was rushed to the ER by my goodly and ever caring Mr. Father-in-Law. When the other siblings awoke on Christmas morning, we found a very hurt little brother Chris with his leg in a cast and drowsiness upon him. Poor Chris. We didn’t sing any songs this year, but we did watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Tradition lives. Mr. Husband is happy and Mr. Little Brother tries hard to smile. Fibulous Christmas for all of us!

The family still rang in the day with good cheer, mimosas, and gift upon gift upon gift upon gift. We were spoiled and flooded with things that we like and love. My Mrs. Mother-in-Law has a great knack for finishing off the most important part in our home—my reading nook. Last year, she gave us my reading table. This year, she completed the space with the perfect reading lamp. It was hard for me to move from my ideal space to write today. I have sanctuary. I have books, and now I have light. The little bit of light looks over my shoulder and beckons me to read. Calm. Light. Good.

All seven of us Stewarts sat around in our pajamas with a mountain of presents before us. We all drank coffee out of Christmas mugs, which is a Stewart family tradition. We opened gifts one at a time, everyone watching the others as we took turns. This is one of my most favorite traditions. I love watching everyone else open their gifts—I love seeing the surprise and the mystery revealed. It was wonderful with all of us being together. Chris’s broken leg didn’t ruin the day (not for us, at least), and we now have a story to tell for years and years. It was warm and wonderful.

And now we are off to Florida on Saturday evening to make Christmas happen at the Klusendorf’s in The Villages. I miss my own family—my ever laughing parents, the wine, my brothers, the wine, my sister-in-law, the cats, and the wine. We’ll see you soon, Mom and Dad.