Merry Christmas to you and your family! This Christmas has been a strange one. It really hasn't felt like Christmas. We have had an unusually warm December. Then there is the threat of the new variant. I know people who traveled for the first time since December 2019 and others whose plans got completely ruined. This year seems even harder than last year when most of us were not vaccinated. Christmas 2020 we planned differently. We knew we needed to social distance and only have small gatherings. Our family split times with my parents. My sister who lives in Rhode Island, Hazel and I gathered at the Cape house and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my parents. My sister and nephew from North Carolina came after Christmas to celebrate with my parents so we could not cross contaminate each other. I have not seen my sister and nephew since July 2020 when we visited them at the Cape and only stayed outside with them.
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| My favorite gift under the tree |
This year we were going to all be together. Now by all we mean only eight of us. My sister bought rapid tests and planned to rapid test herself and her son. My sister in Rhode Island gets tested pretty regularly because she visits my parents almost weekly. But then Christmas began to fall apart. First a caregiver who comes into the facility my father is at tested positive and of course it was a caregiver who worked with my father. We are waiting for my father's test results. So, we could not take my father out on his birthday (Christmas day). My mother started feeling sick Wednesday. She went for a test on Thursday but sadly did not get results until after Christmas. She is negative for Covid and just had a cold and is feeling better, but she was quarantining so she wouldn't get anyone else sick. Ok, so we are ready to gather and not see my parents. My nephew moved to New York City this year and showed up late Christmas Eve with a bit of a cough and stuffed nose. He first thought it was his asthma returning, but it got worse. He had three negative rapid tests. However, Steve and I decided not to chance getting sick even it is just a cold. So, our Christmas day plans were gone in a matter of minutes. Now the three of us had our family celebration on Christmas Eve since our plan was to head to the Cape first thing in the morning. We had a lovely Christmas Eve which I will share about later in this post. Our Christmas day went from us traveling to see my family on the Cape to us staying home. Luckily my sister from Rhode Island decided to come to us. She packed up half the Christmas meal and half of my father's birthday cake and brought it all to us. I pulled out our special china that was a wedding gift from a friend. It was her wedding china. It is hand wash only, so I hardly use it, but I figured for the four of us it was the perfect time. It was a lovely day but did not feel like Christmas with just the four of us. Luckily, my mother and nephew are both feeling better and do not have Covid. Now we wait to hear about my father. I am hoping my sister and I can find a time to see one another before she goes back to North Carolina. My nephew was only there for the weekend, so we won't get to see him.
This year we tried to get in the spirit of the holidays. Hazel invited some friends from school over for a holiday party. She and I baked three weekends in a row! We made four gingerbread houses for her friends and her to decorate. One of them is above. I also printed out some Christmas charade cards I found on-line for them. They also did a Yankee Swap. I fed them way too much sugar and the seven friends left on a sugar high. (Lesson learned--less sugar next time.)
Every year our town has a Santa Claus Parade on Christmas Eve. The past few years Hazel and I have been at the Cape for Christmas Eve so this year it was fun to get outside and see it. Santa got an upgrade from the last time I saw it. The parade was almost half a mile long. We are lucky to have it turn around in our neighborhood and go directly in front of our house. We ran out after a light fun dinner of appetizers and apple pie. After the parade we opened gifts. I discovered that our cable offered various Christmas music and yule channels. I put on one called Purrfect Presents which was a number of grayish kittens playing with Christmas gift boxes and wrapping and each other with background instrumental Christmas music. We watched this while we opened our stockings and gifts. Then Hazel and I watched Encanto on Disney+. Steve didn't want to watch it with us.
My favorite gift this year is our sweet little kitten, Fidget. He took to the Christmas trees right away and loves to sleep under them when we aren't playing with him. I wanted to tie a bow around his neck, but he only wanted to play with the ribbon. Oh, well. I'll take cuddles from him anytime and he loves to follow me or Steve around. So that was our strange Christmas. Now I'm ready to take Christmas decorations down. I guess I'm ready for 2022 and to move past this Covid craziness. I wish more people would trust the science. Get vaccinated and mask up. Let's get over this once and for all. And please if you are sick stay home. Do not go out, do not travel, and do not share your germs (even if your Covid test is negative). I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and the best and healthiest new year!
