A Holiday with Dad

We spent last weekend with my Dad. We won’t be there for Christmas so we made it our holiday weekend. Dad is 92 years old. He lives by himself in the house built in 1985 for him and my mom. He still does his own housework and cooks for himself. Yes, the house is a might on the dirty side. He can’t see as well as he used to. He has been a little upset with us lately because we asked him to stop driving.

He sleeps on a pallet on the couch in the living room because he hasn’t slept in the bed in the master bedroom since my mom died over 20 years ago.

He used to keep a roaring fire going in fireplace all winter until he got COPD and can’t breathe well. Except for being hard of hearing he’s still mentally agile. Of course he is contrary but he has always been that way.

He loves the St. Louis Cardinals and in the summer lives for Cards game broadcasts. Which he used to listen too on the radio, but we got him satellite TV and now he watches every game. The sound is turned up as load as it will go, we couldn’t talk even if we wanted to, which we wouldn’t dare do, he may miss a play. I don’t think he likes replays.

Dad, have a great Christmas, we love you so much.

The Zen of Hanging Christmas Lights

I have been hanging Christmas lights, both indoors and outdoors, for over two decades. You would think by now that I would have a failsafe system. But each winter I feel as if it’s my first time all over again.

The last ten years my wife has taken over the duty of putting lights on the Christmas tree. She had to it if she was going to get them up before Christmas Day. I became so good at procrastinating that her female, “I’ll just do it myself” gene eventually took over.

That leaves me with only the outdoor lights. Each Spring when I finally get around to taking down the lights I always promise myself I’ll pay attention to just how it worked. I have even made copious notes and diagrams just how to put the lights up the next winter.

So along comes Thanksgiving and I begin to think about the lighting. Each nice day I think, “Oh, I have plenty of time. The weather’s nice and I have it all worked out from last year.” Usually the week before Christmas when a really cold front moves in (snow really helps motivate me)I finally give in and don heavy coat and gloves to hang the outdoor Christmas lights.

Of course I have no idea what my notes mean. So I’m at it again. A newbie all over again. But after a mild case of frostbite I get the decorations up and they look pretty nice.

Next year I’ll do even better because I’m going to remember just how this all works.

What a Great Christmas!

For the third year in a row my whole family was home for Christmas. By family I mean my wife and our two children; although our children are now adults with partners of their own. We are beginning to reestablish some of the family Christmas traditions that we had not been able to do over the years when everyone was living so far apart.

My wife and I each have one parent alive, her mother and my father, which are becoming affectionately known as “the ancients”. They both now live within visiting distance so we were able to have a “Christmas dinner” with each. Which means quite a few extra Christmas dinners over several days of Christmas, but it was worth it and I’ve always thought that so much preparation goes into the holidays that Christmas Day should be more than one day anyway.

It looks like 2012 is beginning as if it may be an excellent vintage year. Happy New Year everyone!