Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we had much to be thankful for. My mom, who will be 90 in May was able to be with us again — she has had her ups and downs health-wise this past year, but now is feeling quite well. She scoots around, tidying things up, doing dishes, ironing She is an inspiration and my sister and I both hope we have inherited her set of genes. I am holding my own in regards to PD. I am most thankful for those researchers and drug manufacturers who develop my medications. They make life livable for so many of us. And for those foundations, like the MJFF, which raise money for medical research. We are thankful, too, that our family in NJ weathered hurricane Sandy safely. We look forward to seeing them over Christmas vacation.
We had a wonderful dinner with all the trimmings, and later, after all the leavings of the feast were squared away, and the dishwasher was humming along, mom and I relaxed with a cup of tea, and watched The Miracle on 34th Street. The holiday traditions had begun.
I stay home on Black Friday. First of all, the name is creepy. Makes me think of dark skies and impending doom. Secondly, there is nothing I desire to buy that I find worth the risk of being trampled on. And third, I have almost always completed my shopping at this point, taking advantage of early online specials, especially anyone offering free shipping.
my beautiful tree
So we stay home, play Christmas carols on the iPOD, and deck the halls. And do we ever deck. When we moved into this house almost four years ago, I gazed up at our 9 foot ceilings and envisioned the Christmas tree of my dreams. It takes four boxes full of ornaments to trim it out. It usually takes me a couple of days but with mom’s help we finished in one day. Then there are my collections to place. Angels grace the fireplace mantel, Santas are sprinkled throughout the family room, Nutcrackers stand guard in the dining room and snowmen frolic in the kitchen. Scarlett O’Hara comes out of the doll cabinet wearing her red dress, and teddy bears spill off their shelf. The place looks like Santa’s workshop!
Saturday we venture out and visit the mall for lunch and some shopping. It is the perfect day to shop because the Friday bargain hunters are at home counting their savings and treating their wounds. Mom suffers through trying on various sizes of clothes. She is shrinking, it seems. We finally settle on a couple of nice outfits, size 8. Later,my husband, Bill, joins us to watch The Muppets: A Christmas Carol. I love the songs in this movie. I love the Muppets.
My handsome sons
On Sunday, we meet my sons and our grandkids at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Dorado, and then head back to the house for the annual family newsletter photo. It goes easier this year as the kids are older now and like to say “cheese” to the camera. Evelyn likes to pose, as you can see. We end the Thanksgiving holiday most thankful for the joy our boys and our grandkids have brought to our lives!
Evelyn and Gavin with their great grandmother, “Nana”
The Coyles, Christmas 2012
