I wrote this last Friday:
The shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, the cookies are baked and packed away in the back fridge, the house is fairly clean…
We’re as ready for Christmas as we can be around here.
We’ve had to be flexible this year, what with Katie’s doctors raising their eyebrows and dangling induction in her face. Everyone knows that the longer the babies cook the better but Katie’s enormous and like all women who are sixteen months pregnant, she’s ready to move on to the next part. It’s really ingenious, the way it’s designed. By the time you actually have the baby (babies), you’re so happy not to be pregnant anymore, midnight feedings are cake. She’s seeing her doctors twice a week and lately every other visit, they say “ooh, better induce next time” and next time they say “Nope, everything’s great, you can last another few days.”
As fun as babies for Christmas would be, it’s better for all if the babies come after Christmas.
Today, after her doctor’s stayed delivery again, she came over. A sleety snow had been falling all day, so naturally we went shopping for stocking stuffers. Didn’t find any, so we came back here and watched some great Christmas movies: White Christmas and Die Hard.
After the movie, I wrapped the last minute gifts Jay brought home and made coconut bars.
I always think the lead up to Christmas is the best part. The parties themselves are always great; the menus, the venues and the participants are all top notch but the anticipation and preparation are their own pleasures; the baking, the music, the snow…all of it.
Last weekend we had a cold snap. I mean really cold: Minnesota cold. It was -21 when I went to church at 10:30 in the morning. We’d had about three inches of snow on Saturday so we had to get all the cars out of the way of the plows. That entailed moving them a few times. Monday, Zack’s car wouldn’t start. Dead battery. I let him take my minivan to work. Tuesday, I took it to the shop and ran my normal errands. When I opened the back to toss in my groceries, I noticed a large shopping bag in the back. I thought Zack had done some shopping while he used my car and just left the bag there. I knew he’d remember it eventually, so I left it. On Friday, I got tired of seeing it so I brought it into the house. Zack had never seen it before. Jay had never seen it before. I knew I hadn’t bought the things inside it. It had been in the car since before Josie came home from school, so who put it in my van? Here’s the thing: even when the doors are unlocked, you can’t open the lift gate of the van without using the key, so no one could have put the bag there without it but it’s possible that someone opened the side door and tossed the bag into the back. That’s not as crazy as it sounds; I’ve gotten behind the wheel of the wrong mini van and not realized it wasn’t mine until the key wouldn’t turn, twice. The first time I ever did it was outside the grocery store and before I discovered the key wouldn’t turn, I glanced at the passenger seat and thought “someone stole my video!” quickly followed by the realization “someone cleaned my car!” I hope I’m not as crazy as I sound.
BUT WHERE THE HECK DID THE SHOPPING BAG COME FROM??
Josie didn’t care where they came from, she just wanted the pajamas.
Zack found a receipt in the bag: the items had been purchased weeks ago. That’s when I finally remembered that over a week earlier, Ty had asked me if I would wrap some gifts he was planning to drop off here. He’d been over at least twice since then but I never saw him leave the bag in my car. I texted him and sure enough: I’m not crazy! Okay, not about this, anyway.
Tomorrow will be a blast: it always is. At least two branches of the family are due to spend the holiday with the outlaw side. It will be a nice, low key, quiet little gathering of about 25. I’ve got a little bit of vacuuming, tidying and wrapping left to do before the party begins.
I should go to bed, I’m tired…but I want to sit here and enjoy the time before Christmas as long as I can.