Our Holiday

This is the way the weather started at our house for the Christmas holidays. Since all of our children have so many places to be and people to see, we always have what I call "drive-by Christmas" that began this year on the 18th. Jennifer and her husband Reed Townsend arrived on Thursday night the 17th and stayed through the weekend. Tommy Tucker arrived on Saturday afternoon and stayed till the next Saturday. Rachel, Matt and Owen arrived on Monday the 21st and stayed till Saturday. Nathan and Randi arrived on Wednesday evening and stayed till Saturday. Notice the trend on "stayed till Saturday"? That was the day that we successfully dug out the driveway and sent kids on their way to non-slick destinations.

We didn't begin wearing coats outside until Christmas Eve when the early morning rain turned to sleet and then snow. The view from the dining room windows was beautiful! We could barely see the house across the street. What did we care? We had our family, food, heat and (thankfully) plenty of beds. We were eating lunch when Susan called from a birthday party to tell me she wasn't coming. She COULDN'T FIND MY STREET!!! All landmarks were covered in white stuff and it was slicker than snot out there. My adult boys - Matt, Tommy and Nathan - mounted a rescue and took Matt's SUV to deliver her to my house. I was so happy to have her with us.

After we opened our presents and played with our stuff, we noticed that there were four foot drifts against my garage door and that we really couldn't tell where the street was. No step for a stepper!

Susan put on all the clothes I own (long underwear, hat, scarf, gloves) and she and Steve set out the back gate to her house! She left her presents behind (bwa-ha-ha!). They arrived safe but cold at her house after about 45 minutes. Steve warmed up then struck out for his mother's house to get night clothes and personal items...and to check on the dog!... He finally got there, called us, then set back out toward home. All round, the trip took him about 2.5 hours and it was dark by the time he got home. My hero!

Tommy gave up his bed and Carol spent the night with us. The next morning, Carol was ready bright and early to go home. Mind you, the weather is no better. It's still slicker than snot and she's over 80 years old. So, once again Steve dresses up and heads for the back gate. It needs to be noted right here that mid-way through the trip, his mother acknowledged that Steve was right and that it was too slick to be walking! She got home safely and Steve made it back to our house. He called to ask if we needed anything from the store since he was out! Comedian.

All of the kids managed to get gone on Saturday. Rachel and Matt had no trouble once they left Texas. Apparently Oklahoma knows how to treat snow. Randi and Nathan were fine once they got to the turn-off to Graham heading to Jacksboro. Tommy had some difficulty in Decatur and got a hotel room to be safe. The next day he made it to his mother's house in Tyler. Whew!

We have already taken Christmas decorations down since the tree was a health hazzard. The house is clean and strangly empty. The quiet is unbroken except for the theme song to Super Mario that I keep playing. My thumbs hurt.

I hope your Christmas was as joyful as mine and I wish you a Happy New Year.

Love to you all,
Candy