Christmas 2008

We left home on Tuesday at 3:30 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. flight and boy was it cold - 13 degrees! We took off on time and had a smooth flight - and a beautiful sunrise. We arrived at DFW on time, picked up the rental car and were at Reen and Al's before 10:30 a.m. Bob and Nancy were not so lucky. Their flight on Monday morning from Newark was canceled - mechanical problems - and they did not arrive until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday ... they were still smiling! We went out for a Mexican dinner and margaritas.

Maureen received a very uniqui gift from one of her "Bee" friends. It was a glass block that had a string of lights inside. They made a small hole on the side and fed the lights in. The ribbon and bow was the finishing touch.

Reen and Al usually have an open house on Christmas Eve but decided not to have one this year. That was a good choice considering both sets of parents arrived on Tuesday and that is when we would normally put up the tree. This year, the plan was to put up the tree on Christmas Eve. When I woke up the next day - Christmas Eve - my head felt like it was a big balloon, my nose a running faucet and my eyes were itchy and watery...allergies ... and it got worse as the day went on!!! That evening, I did make it to 4:00 Mass and was able to do my share of decorating the tree - can't say the same about Nancy and Bill! While Bob, Reen and I were putting up the tree, Nancy and Bill were talking in the kitchen while Al was cooking! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do my share of drinking and eating - and that is not like me! I did manage to stay up a lot longer than I thought I could; and boy that bed really felt good when I finally got in it!

Christmas morning I felt much better. What a difference 48 hrs can make - the head was open and the nose was just a drip. Santa did stop and leave gifts under the tree. Alan got a "major award" Christmas ornament - the lamp leg from A Christmas Story - crate and all; and Reen got Longaberger ornaments. Alan made the "Mom's" beautiful wooden oil lamps. Reen made the "Dad's" a "quilt" for Bob (who made it known that he only had one quilt) and a matching pillowcase for Bill's quilt. I must add that Bob's quilt was a 6"x 6" one in a "big" box.

As usual, we had a great dinner. Reen made the antipasta and Al made the rest ... fresh ham shank roast that he marinated overnight - delicious. For dessert, we had apple pie - with homemade ice cream - and cheese cake. Again, we all ate too much! After dinner, Bill and I took a walk down to the pond. Christmas night, we played mexican train dominoes for about 3 hours- I won!

Friday we packed in the morning and had a relaxing day. Reen, Nancy and I played dominoes - Al played for the first 6 rounds. After checking the flight status online (on time), Bill and I left for the airport at 3:45 for a 6:35 flight. By the time we got through the security check, our flight was delayed an hour to 7:30 - then it was delayed again to 8:00. We finally took off at 8:35 and arrived in Philly at 12:30 and at home by 1:15. All in all, it was a good flight!

The Golden Years

I guess you can say I finally entered the "Golden Years" - I applied for social security benefits today! It's so hard to believe that I am at that point in my life which had always seemed to be so far away and, now, its here. When I was younger, people in their 60s seemed old but not any more! Except for a few aches and pains, I don't feel any different. To me, age is just a number.
Checks won't start coming until April and I still plan on working part time. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday sound like good days to work! 2009 will be an interesting year ...