Clark and I will wake up Christmas morning all by ourselves. This is just one of the many things I didn't see coming. It was inevitable, with all four of our adult children spread out all over the planet. But somehow I didn't realize it would come this soon. Last year, my two daughters and their families met Clark and me at a cabin in the Hill country of Texas for Christmas, and with four children under four years of age, it was wild and wonderful. I realized it was a hassle for them, but they did it for me, and I was grateful. This year is the in-laws turn, and that is only fair, but truth be told, I want them all to myself every year. We could have gone to Katie's house in Houston for Christmas, but then that would have left Clark's mother all alone, and perhaps my mother as well, so we elected to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on a "mother tour" as we refer to it, and go out to Texas for an after Christmas/New Year's visit. It will be great to see them, but it just won't be the same as hearing the giggles and little bursts of excitement you get when the wrapping paper is flying and the stockings are turned upside down. I mean, that's what Mimi's are for---to sit back and watch and listen to the grandkids on Christmas morning.
I think that the way we grow up and the traditions we have as children impact us more than we know. I grew up with my maternal grandparents and six cousins on the same block. We gathered at my grandparents' home every single Christmas Eve that I can remember. I couldn't wait for those Christmases, because I absolutely loved being with my cousins and all the activity nine grandchildren would bring to a Christmas gathering. So, I guess, I figured my kids and my grandkids would do the same. But 500 miles is not across the street. And I am going to have to get over thinking that my kids and grandkids will come to our house for Christmas at the same time. In fact, it's not going to happen any time soon, because it is time for them to begin their own traditions, and have Christmas in their own homes. I totally understand, but I can always hold out hope that one Christmas they will decide that it would be fun to visit Mimi and Poppy, because they will realize that I have never had all four grandkids home for the holidays. And they will haul all the gifts and the kids and fight the traffic for 10-12 hours with two kids each in the backseat, or wait in lines at the airport with packages, car seats, and toddlers in tow so that they can spend Christmas at my house. That sounds like a plan, right?
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