Christmas Day 2009

Although it is now Easter week-end 2010 and I am writing about Christmas in retrospect, the memories of that day over 3 months ago is as vivid as if it was yesterday. I have been putting off writing about Christmas because the words and feelings are so strong and in some cases painful.

I drove Jenn to work Christmas morning. It was raining hard and I took my time driving home. Driving by houses knowing inside were families celebrating the holiday made coming back into the house harder. I took the dog for a walk. He was not happy to be out in the chilly rain and kept looking at me like why are you doing this to me? It was the first Christmas morning I had ever spent alone.....what to do....what to do....

OK I will make the Stromboli we were bringing to a friends house later in the day...into the oven it went...so now it's 8:30....what do I do next.....

OK I will make the antipasto for our friends house....now it's 9:00....

Take the dog for another walk.....9:15

Get on the computer and send holiday greetings....9:30

9:45 1st phone call of the day....Bob calling to say what a wonderful time he is having with his family...wants to know what we are doing....what are we doing?? The same thing I told you we would be doing....Jenn's working and I am sitting here by myself looking at the tree Jenn and I decorated and listening to the rain on the roof.....what did he think we were doing....conversation 90 seconds....

10:00 decided to watch "A Christmas Story" from start to finish...that will kill some time...

12:00 showered, dressed and put gifts on the table for our friends house....

12:45 Jenn called she was getting off at 1:00....drove like a bat out of hell to get her at work

Then the day seemed to move faster...we went to our friends house for dinner...exchanged gifts and finally laugh....

We didn't get home too late and Jenn and I opened the gifts we had bought for each other. Watched a Christmas movie and drifted off to sleep......

Holiday over.......

Christmas Eve

The best part of Christmas Eve was finding out at the last minute that Jenn would have the day off !! We didn't do a lot that day but did have fun going to Big Lots to shop...the rule was we could not spend more than $10 on each other...it was not an easy task....later we had our traditional dinner of appetizers...baked clams, cheese sticks, etc....the tree looked great (Jenn and I handled the decorating) and the outside of the house looked pretty (thanks to some friends who came over a few weeks before Christmas and helped me decorate)....my friends tactfully suggested the less is more approach and it was the right way to decorate for this very different Christmas......in years past our house resembled the house in Christmas Vacation....definitely over the top and I am sure many people drove by and thought "oh my God how tacky can you get" but we loved it....but that was another time now past....later on Christmas we spent in the bedroom ...Jenn on the bed and me in the recliner both playing on our computers and watching "It's A Wonderful Life"...we even let Jeter come in a keep us company.....not the most outstanding Christmas Eve even but it was still OK because Jenn and I hung out together...