Well! I had a really wonderful Christmas and hope everyone else did as well! This was the first time I have had a lot of vacation days to use for Christmas in quite a while, and I enjoyed being able to take the season at a more relaxed pace.
Christmas Eve we went to Steven's mom's house in Norman for a delicious lasagna dinner and present opening. Then we drove down to Ada and Lesley and Lee came over for our annual Christmas Eve exchange. This tradition started when we were in junior high because Lesley's family opens presents on Christmas Eve and my family waited until that morning. This way I always got a present on Christmas Eve, too. ;) Christmas morning we went to Steven's dad's house for gifts, then out to his girlfriend's house for food and fun games. We finally made it back to my grandma's house at about 4 for present opening, dinner and a family viewing of Despicable Me.
The next day we celebrated my Grandma's birthday a day early and all headed over to Cinema Six to watch the new Narnia movie. It was quite good if not exactly the same as the book. Several of us left with shiny eyes at the end.
Now I'm just preparing for the New Year's Eve party I'm throwing on Friday, which should be a lot of fun! I feel like I might be trying to come down with a cold, so I'm vitamin-ing up and trying to get lots of rest.
Several bloggers I read are posting their Christmas gifts on their blogs and I find it fascinating to see what other people got for Christmas. So here's some of my own, in case you find it interesting (leaving out the boring items like "sweaters" and "chocolate marshmallow Santas):
-A WAND from Ollivander's! My Godparents went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter last month. What a fun souvenir!
-A Dutch oven. I was SO excited to not have to make boef bourignon in my crock pot anymore!
-A really neat old-fashioned glass measuring cup that has measurements for liquids, rice, flour, sugar and all kinds of things etched on the side.
-China! For the past few years, my grandmother has been helping us fill in our wedding china (I also got a place setting for my birthday)She gave us another place setting and a serving bowl. Thanks, Grandma!
-Slippers! I told Steven that of all the things on my Christmas list, I would cry if I didn't get slippers. Mine perished months ago in the great flood at Grandma's house so I've been borrowing an old pair of Steven's that are way too big for me.
-A new digital camera. My wonderful little camera died when we were in Mexico as a result of being dropped. :( I am very excited to have a new one.
And what were the gifts I was most excited to give (because, after all, the giving is the most fun part)?
-An iPhone for Steven. He has been wanting one for a while, so I had it all synched and charged and ready for him to play with when he opened it.
-Cognac and cognac glasses for Steven. He recently has discovered that he likes cognac, so I spent HOURS on Dec. 24th scouring Norman for the appropriate glassware (which can be found and Bed Bath and Beyond, FYI).
-A coffee cup for my mom. We generally bring her back souvenir coffee cups from our travels, but when we were in Pier 1 last week we found this amazingly ugly cup with a monkey on it where the handle is the monkey's arm. It was hilarious.
The most special gift I gave this year was my grandmother's birthday present. I had arranged for Lesley, who is an awesome photographer, to take some photos of myself and my three cousins. I had the best one framed up as an 8x10 and gave it to her for her birthday. She was touched and it was wonderful for me to be able to light up her day that way.
So, Merry Christmas! I suppose sometime soon I'll have to post some kind of Year in Review post, or a "Coming in the Year 2011" post.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Buttermilk
There's a man outside with a leaf blower and he yells at me because apparently I've parked my car the wrong way and even though I am the ONLY ONE there he makes me re-park my car. It's loud and jarring and sets my teeth on edge because these people, of all the people in the world, should speak softly and kindly.
Once inside I am directed where to go and I enter a tiny, sparse room and there she is in her tiny white coffin. Her hair is smoothed and so are the lines of pain on her sweet face, her hands relaxed instead of clenching and struggling. I look into her face and the tears well up so I tilt my head back and all I can think is how funeral homes should not be allowed to have popcorn ceilings. Or floor lamps from the 1980s. Or white walls. It was spartan and cold and unfitting to the gentle lady who lay there in repose, all alone. There's only one small basket of flowers to brighten up the drab room.
This lady who lays there welcomed me into her family with open arms, proclaiming almost immediately that she had decided that I'm another granddaughter, not just an in-law. She was sweet and feisty and loved to have her family around her; would watch them with bright and loving eyes and fuss and worry over them.
We rushed to her bedside when we hears she was sick, and we spoke to her and she knew us. We told her we loved her and she said she loved us too. Later we stood on either side of her in the hospital, each holding one of her hands as she spoke confusedly from behind her oxygen mask. We finally figured out that she was asking for a glass of buttermilk. She thought that would taste really good. When we explained to her that she couldn't have any, she asked if she could have some orange juice instead. With tears in my eyes I begged the nurse for something, anything, to give her. A cup of ice chips magically appeared and we worked together to slip them one at a time beneath her mask. Her face relaxed when she tasted the first piece and I was so, so very grateful to be able to offer her some comfort. I am so, so very grateful to have had the chance to speak words of love with her before she passed.
Go with grace, gentle woman of God. Your loving presence will be greatly missed, and you will be always in our hearts.
In loving memory of Maimee Jean Bryant, Steven's grandmother.
Once inside I am directed where to go and I enter a tiny, sparse room and there she is in her tiny white coffin. Her hair is smoothed and so are the lines of pain on her sweet face, her hands relaxed instead of clenching and struggling. I look into her face and the tears well up so I tilt my head back and all I can think is how funeral homes should not be allowed to have popcorn ceilings. Or floor lamps from the 1980s. Or white walls. It was spartan and cold and unfitting to the gentle lady who lay there in repose, all alone. There's only one small basket of flowers to brighten up the drab room.
This lady who lays there welcomed me into her family with open arms, proclaiming almost immediately that she had decided that I'm another granddaughter, not just an in-law. She was sweet and feisty and loved to have her family around her; would watch them with bright and loving eyes and fuss and worry over them.
We rushed to her bedside when we hears she was sick, and we spoke to her and she knew us. We told her we loved her and she said she loved us too. Later we stood on either side of her in the hospital, each holding one of her hands as she spoke confusedly from behind her oxygen mask. We finally figured out that she was asking for a glass of buttermilk. She thought that would taste really good. When we explained to her that she couldn't have any, she asked if she could have some orange juice instead. With tears in my eyes I begged the nurse for something, anything, to give her. A cup of ice chips magically appeared and we worked together to slip them one at a time beneath her mask. Her face relaxed when she tasted the first piece and I was so, so very grateful to be able to offer her some comfort. I am so, so very grateful to have had the chance to speak words of love with her before she passed.
Go with grace, gentle woman of God. Your loving presence will be greatly missed, and you will be always in our hearts.
In loving memory of Maimee Jean Bryant, Steven's grandmother.
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