On December, Five and Twenty
Monday, December 25, 2006
Christmas had arrived, gray and cold and quickly. The day began with an early arrival for OLeif and Collette at the Silverspoon’s at seven-thirty in the morning, where everyone was still in their pajamas. Denae got the coffee going and the grand exchange of gifts commenced.
The boys yanked out the contents of their stockings, including jerky, pretzel bites, and various gadgets. There were chocolate covered cherries, guitar equipment, baby books, new hand towels and a fleece throw for Denae, little baby socks (filled with money for eating out) for baby and OLeif and Collette, new shirts for OLeif and pajamas for all the boys (which were mostly ignored, not being nearly as exciting), the entire five seasons of 24 and cigars for Theodore, a Christmas ornament for baby from Uncle Clause and Aunt Agnes, a sound system for Izzy from Curly, and chocolate peanut butter truffles from Bissengers for Denae from Curly, vanilla candles and matches, a coffee maker for Denae, and an iPod nano for Izzy… From OLeif and Collette there was the entire season of Firefly, iTunes gift cards for the boys, a bag of bourbon pecan coffee from Soulard, and a giant solid ten-pound bar of chocolate.
Then OLeif presented a gliding rocking chair to Collette for her Christmas gift, which he had stored at the Silverspoon’s. He had been given it from Simon at work. Collette knew what it was going to be before he brought it out, somehow; she was very pleased and spent most of the rest of the morning sitting in it with her book.
This present-opening activity involved a great deal of energy and was concluded with nourishment (aside from the giant chocolate bar which was slowly shaved away with a pocket knife). This was followed with sweet pineapple, various sorts of shrimp (seasoned pork steak and potatoes for Collette, who couldn’t make herself eat shrimp – wiggly fleshy things that they were), and salads. OLeif also put together eggnog with creams and eggs and different alcohols…
Come one-thirty they left for the Combs’ where the family had just arrived. Uncle Larry and Uncle Bob were already there, Uncle Bob talking very loudly to their sister in Australia, just in case the thousands of miles in distance made the connection a little weak. And there were trays of chocolates, truffles, nuts, chips and dip, sodas, and the usual. Then came another massive gift exchange including all sorts of things which would likely not be remembered. Collette could never recall having been loaded down with more loot. Baby even received a little pillow and a small package of wood blocks from Grandma. Much joking and laughter was passed around and through the lasagna for dinner, followed by cheesecake and other good things. Collette somehow thought she might burst despite the fact that she really hadn’t eaten all that much as a whole during the day. Somehow that inevitably happened to her over the holidays.
Sometime after seven, Dad and Uncle Mo had finished “stretching out their guts” as Uncle Mo always pleasantly put it (although he was still stretched out on the living room floor), and Dad rounded up the kids including Lucia who was going to spend the night with Carrie. Lucia still couldn’t quite decide what to do with herself the eleven days that Carrie would be thousands of miles away overseas.
“Probably get a new friend,” Linus laughed at her.
Just as everyone was prepared to walk out the door, Grandma remembered to pass out the party crackers which all popped with the sound of gun smoke, revealing little whistles and tops and games and jokes on paper.
OLeif and Collette returned home that night feeling very full of good things.