Christmas and Family 2015

Christmas is a time of family. The birth of Christ.  Joseph and Mary.  I was thankful to be welcome at my brother’s in Ottawa. Ron is a mensch.  His wife, Adell, is also adorable. Their sons, my nephews, are a joy to know. Graeme the oldest, an engineer and film maker, is a big hearted nerd. The next is Andrew, a genius indeed but with a wild sense of humour, a geologist, studying robots and doing MRI’s of the terrain.  The youngest is Alan, the child psychologist in the making.  Andrew married Tanya, who is a whiz with computers and shares Andrew’s appreciation of the original.  Alan has met Meagan a delightful psychology student completing a double major while working in a cheese boutique.  Then there is Eva the cockapoo. It’s a regular family. All pulling together to help each other.
I get to be apart of it.  It’’s really quite an honour.
Velma and Melvine are Adell’s aunts.  They invited us to their church. Adell and I joined them for a Baptist candlelight carole sing. I loved it. The minister is a bearded young man with a whole a lot of Jesus about him.  The guitar playing music leader was just right.  All around the voices were warm and it really was a holy night.  Velma and Melvin are old school Christians.  They don’t so much talk but show the Lord in their positive outlook.  I enjoyed their company again at Christmas dinner.
Opening present was what it’s supposed to be. Fun.  A lot of fun.  Alan’s a paper folder.  Ron was great at handing presents from under the tree, sometimes throwing the small ones.  I loved the books I received and the sweater.  Tanya and Andrew were a whole lot of fun. They’d baked the very best fudge and we all got a little box of this precious. treat. Graeme gave me a mandarin orange. I remembered how when we were children this was a special treat, mandarins only arriving for Christmas holidays. Now we can get them just about all year round.  
Megan and her sister and her mom arrived for a visit.  We all had tea and ate more chocolate. More present opening. More laughter.  Pleasant repartee.
It’s in the midst of all this world of almost Jane Eyre and Bronte Sister revelry that I realize I have had a particularly bloody life dealing with physical illness for years, then mental illness and now addiction.  I feel bit Kafkaeque like Metamorphosis but stay focused on the day. Christ is born. Love is in the air. I’m just a little nostalgic, missing mom and dad,my aunt Sally, grandparents and uncles, aunts, our childhood dog Sunny.
I loved the turkey dinner.  I understand now how much my father loved this too.  Turkey dinner on Christmas day.  Tradition.  It’s so good of Ron and Adell to host this and invited us all there. I loved being at that table.
And yes, we all attended Star Wars.  I’d seen it as had Alan but while Alan slept in I went a second time. As it was 10 am showing Adell had picked up egg mc muffins for the showing. Then after the movie it was a big breakfast at Summerhays’ Restaurant., Allan joining us. Lots of talk about BB8 and Rey and Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker.
I didn’t do any shopping before Christmas so was thankful to Alan who took me out before Christmas and on Boxing Day to get presents for the family.  Thank you Apple and Best Buy.
More meals. Great left overs.  More chocolate.  Rides with my brother. Talk of illness and anxiety.  Frustration and recovery.  We’re getting old.  Parts are wearing out.  But it’s all good.
Eva was happy. I ‘m looking forward to flying back now to Gilbert, my cockapoo. Laura is taking care of him.  I get in at 1 am and tomorrow is a work day. But it’s a short week and Laura and I are spending New Years’ at Harrison Hot Spring and Spa.
Thank you Jesus.