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Christmas Without the Kids
I'd give anything to relive Christmas 1981. That year Erik was just three years old, and with every Christmas gift he opened he shouted, "Just what I only wanted!" His mother and I couldn't stop laughing at how happy he was.
And later in the day that year he gathered with his cousins Erin and Forrest and Jessie and they romped around Grandma and Grandpa's house enjoying the attention and the fun. My parents' house was noisy in those days and the overflow crowd had to eat at tray tables in the living room.
Christmas 2006 was so much different. Don't get me wrong. It was fun and the food was great. But where were the kids? Erik and his cousins are all adults, busy with their work schedules and lives. Thank goodness at least Raeanna, Erin's daughter, was there. All of eighteen months old she doesn't really understand the fun of Christmas yet, but she served as a reminder of years gone by. And of how quickly the years pass.
The day at Mom's was not without its laughs, and, as usual, there was plenty to talk about. As we discussed the predicted storm due to hit our area, Gene reminded us of the days when we'd put chains on the back tires of our cars. That was followed by the days of studs on our tires to help with traction in the winter. I guess both chains and studs on tires are against the law now.
Someone gave Mom a fruitcake! For some reason this Christmas I was thinking about fruitcake and thinking that I hadn't eaten a piece of fruitcake since 1986. I tried a piece and I was happy to see that the taste of fruitcakes hasn't improved since '86. I haven't been missing anything through the years. As Theresa so eloquently put it, "You just had to be reminded why you haven't eaten it in so long."
I found out some odd facts known by few. Such as Gene puts coffee on his morning cereal. Yes, that's right. He follows a strict regimen of water into the cereal bowl, heat in the microwave, add the cereal, add a little cream and then your coffee. It occurred to him some time ago that since he was drinking a cup of coffee with his cereal each day, he could just toss it all in together.
And Theresa told me that some people brush their teeth in the shower. She doesn't and I don't, but she insists some people do. No one in the Gagnon family would admit to it.
Of course, the food outdid the conversation. Mom cooked a great eighteen-pound turkey, and prepared the potatoes and the stuffing. Not bad for an 85-year-old! Darlene cooked the turnips, and she and Bertha, her mother-in-law, brought pies. I cooked the ham.
The best part of any Gagnon family meal, to me, is Goose's cabbage salad. He fixed a great batch this year and I was able to sneak out with the meager leftovers. I think when Goose retires he could be hired by local restaurants to prepare cabbage salad. I can see it now: big containers in stores and delis with the words "Goose's Finest Cabbage Salad."
Even with all the fun and chatter I realized at the end of the day that Christmas in our family isn't the same without kids. Not that I'm rushing anything, but Goose is a grandpa -- I am trying to get Raeanna to call him "Pepe." And in a few years Raeanna will be at the age Erik was back in '81. My sister is a grandmother, but Forrest lives in Florida and works constantly. I'm still waiting to reach that grandparent level, and I hope Erik and Sarah continue to take their time.
But the Gagnon family definitely needs some kids to run around, make messes and scream for joy when opening presents. Maybe in a few years. That would be "just what I only wanted." I hope I'm still around to enjoy it.
Comments
Foxy; It reminds me years ago the YMCA would hold Friday nite dances. The guys would sit on one side of the dance floor and the girls on the other side of the dance floor! The guys would huddle up and set up a plan ! Request a slow song and go over as a team and hope the girls would dance with us! Memories of crazy, but fun times! Those days a kiss was a touchdown!
(Foxy's note: Yes, you are right. Those YMCA dances were huge for a kid like me from OLVA. If we even got a girl from PHS to dance with us, we were in heaven!)
Posted by: lenny smallacombe | December 29, 2006 8:54 AM
it was good
Posted by: jim grogan | December 27, 2006 6:25 PM
miney..i certainly miss the steltzers too.. i worked for them for 3 years and we became very close.... i visited brian in oregon a few years ago when eleanor was living there.. she was a wonderful cook... along with being a wonderful person.. contact me at billglass01@aol.com if you would like some info on brian..
Posted by: bill glasscock | December 26, 2006 6:21 PM
Next Xmas I will rent you Robby for the day.
Be prepared, to have your ears talked off, throw the football around outside no matter what the temperature is, play all the new PS and DVD games he has just received, throw the baseball around for 30 minutes (he says he has to keep his arm ready for LL this May), have all your homemade fudge and other goodies nibbled at to the point where you tell him to go ahead and finish them, listen to him complain that he doesn't need all those new clothes he just got cause the clothes he got last year are still good, pick up all the games and clothes that have been carefully placed all over the place, and finally listen to him complain that his stomach hurts because he has eaten so much over the past 24 hours.
At the end of the day he will come up to you and say thanks for everything and remind you to get batteries for all the stuff you forgot needed batteries.
Are you sure you really want more young kids around on Xmas day ? :)
(Foxy's note: Sounds great, but now that you remind me, I realize I was 33 when Erik was three years old. I don't think I've got the stamina for that at my age now!)
Posted by: Rick K | December 26, 2006 12:49 PM
I don't know, I think I'm the only one who truly likes fruitcake. I sure do miss Eleanor Steltzer's fruitcake - she brought 1 to our house every Christmas & for once I didn't have to compete for a slice, the whole thing was mine. And since I'm talking about it, I sure miss her and her wonderful husband Bromo too. He sure made you laugh everytime he saw you. I don't know why I'm thinking of this, but he taught me the proper way to gut a fish - he had a whole pail full of them one day in his back yard while I was playing with Brian. Hmmmm .. fruitcake & fish, maybe you all get a picture like that too.
Posted by: Miney Rowlson | December 26, 2006 8:26 AM