Christmas Adam craziness

Yesterday on Christmas Adam (the day before Christmas Eve), Meelyn, Aisling, Kieren and I drove down to Nan and Pop's house so that Nanny and I could spend the afternoon wrapping gifts -- only at the time, I didn't know I was going to spend the afternoon wrapping gifts. I thought I was going to be playing cards, but my parents, crafty connivers that they are, lured me to New Castle with the offer of lunch. One breaded tenderloin and piece of coconut cream pie later, and I was putty in their capable hands.

So I sat and wrapped. And wrapped. And wrapped. And occasionally reminded my mother bitterly that Lincoln freed the slaves, all but ONE apparently.

By the time I was done wrapping and my mother was done cracking a whip fashioned of curling ribbon over my head and my dad was done taking his cozy little nap and the teenagers were done spending a lovely, leisurely afternoon of card-playing and holiday-treat-eating, it was pointed out to me that the weather had turned icy and ugly and that we shouldn't leave, but instead spend the night.

"Why?" I asked, reproachfully inspecting the many paper cuts on my stiffened hands. "Do you have another huge load of gifts for some poor sucker to wrap? Because if so, you're going to have to call a friend or summon a neighbor: I have fallen prey to carpal tunnel syndrome."

It turned out to be a very nice evening, complete with a little supper of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast prepared by the teenagers and a Christmas movie ("A Christmas Wedding" from Lifetime -- do yourself a favor and DO NOT WATCH this piece of crap) with popcorn and cookies later.

We all turned in around eleven o'clock p.m. and I was tucked in by my mother, who had repented of her bad ways, although still much inclined to look at me with bright eyes and say, "That was so much fun, doing that together! We should do it again next year! We should make it a tradition!" She said a prayer for me and kissed my forehead and the next thing I knew, it was nine o'clock in the morning and doughnuts had been brought in from Jack's!

A very welcome start to the Christmas festivities.