Christmas 2012, Part I

Like every other year, our family Christmas celebration began on Christmas Eve. We had Mimi over for a lunch of homemade turkey noodle soup, roasted chicken, stuffing, and salad. (Notice the flip-flop between the turkey and chicken...my parents sort of did that on purpose!) Lunch was absolutely great, as usual, if not better since Mimi was there. After we finished eating, my mom and I had to go pull ourselves together so that we could make it to the 5:00 Mass on time. (I originally thought that 5:00 was way too early for a Christmas service, but it turned out to not be the worst thing in the world...more on that in a sec...) After we were all ready, we let Mimi open her presents, which were a new cordless telephone set, some tea, a can of peach pie filling, and a bag of my dad's homemade noodles. Yes, it sounds random, but Mimi has told us quite often that because she is the age she is, she really just wants stuff that she can use. With that in mind, she was over the moon about all of her gifts, although she said that just being with us was present enough. This is why I love my Mimi. 

Before we left for Mass, I remembered to have my mom take a picture of us in front of the tree.

It is one of my favorite pictures of us together, and definitely one I will cherish later on in life. 

Due to circumstances beyond our control, my mom had to stop in at work before church, so my dad dropped her off, dropped Mimi and me off at church, then returned to get my mom. Lots of running around, but it was actually the most efficient plan, and it wasn't that far between any of the places. When we got to church, it turned out that we had hospitality (or we were greeters, if you aren't familiar with my church), so I sat in the back and greeted solo, while Mimi gladly held our pew for us. After a while, a cousin of ours, who is recently widowed, decided that he would stand back there with me, just because. I enjoyed that, and it made the time go much faster. I always enjoy getting to greet people at Christmas Eve Mass, because there is such an assortment of people coming in, looking fancy and excited. 

Like I said earlier, I originally thought that 5:00 was way too early, and somewhat inconvenient in timing, but it beat the alternative of going to Hennessey at 10:00, when everyone is sleepy and the kids are up way too late and are horribly grumpy, and not to mention it is very cold and very dark. (I would honestly like to know who comes up with these times for anything, because I am not really sure who it is. Maybe the times are handed down on stone tablets? Who knows...I'm rambling now.) Maybe lots of people shared my logic, maybe it was the impending "snow storm of the century" that the weather was forecasting, maybe it was fate. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but everyone, and I mean everyone, came out of the woodwork to attend Christmas Eve Mass. It has been quite some time since I have seen the church as densely packed as it was, although I can't say that it was tip-top full. There were still about 4 or 5 pews empty...those of you who are familiar with the church will know exactly where they were empty...right in the front, behind the Markes clan. There were many families who sat separately, just so they could find a spot, which lead to a great intermingling, which isn't the worst thing in the world. After a while, the crowd and resulting body heat proved to be too much for Mimi, so she and my parents trekked over to the chapel area, where it was much cooler and considerably less crowded.

Mass went off without too many hitches. Of course, it was long; much to long for any of the kids in there who were already antsy about Santa Claus and presents. The singing was wonderful, though. Maybe that was because my pew was surrounded by lots of great singers, including my nephews. And everyone knows the songs that you sing at Christmas time, so there isn't much room for guesswork there. We had an added treat this year, with the children of the church. As I may or may not have mentioned, we have finally succeeded in returning Sunday school to our church, since we have more than enough children to constitute a program of our own. One of the biggest things that we wanted to accomplish this year was having the children sing for Christmas. Thankfully, everyone, including the children, was cooperative and that went well. No, I didn't bring my camera in or a recording device, and I forgot my phone at home, so I couldn't have even snapped a grainy phone picture. It was truly a sight to be beheld. After communion, the children were gathered in front of the altar and sang three songs: "Children, Run Joyfully", "Away in A Manger", and "Silent Night". The first song, although it wasn't traditional, was a nice change of pace, and the kiddos thoroughly enjoyed it, as far as I could tell. It was a little bit of a bummer, because we didn't pull out the candles for "Silent Night" like we have every other year. It really adds a certain amount of ambiance, but no one asked me. They did turn the lights down, though, and I liked that. I won't lie, that song made me tear up, as it always does. It is very intense, especially with little voices singing it, and it brought to mind the recent tragedy in CT, and all of the parents who face silent nights without their little ones. 

After Mass was over, it was the usual milling about of people who haven't seen each other for years being reunited, children excitedly pulling their parents out the door so that they can go home and expedite the arrival of Santa, and farmers talking about "the big one" that's supposedly coming for us, making their own predictions. After all of the boys and my sisters talked to Mimi a little bit, we all went home. Well, we dropped Mimi off first, then we went home. My parents and I enjoyed a slice of peach pie, that we had originally intended to eat with lunch, but just didn't get around to. Mom and I got a few things together to make the next day easier, and then we all went to sleep at varying times. For whatever reason, I watched some of the Mass from St. Peter's with the Pope, like I always do. It's the exact same thing that I just came from, and it takes an eternity for them to do anything, and it's all translated by some dry priest, but I still find myself enchanted with it. And I never make it through the whole thing, either. I always check out sometime around the Gospel reading or the pope's homily, although this year, I think it was the 2nd reading. Oh well, such is life. 

All in all, it was a great day, and it really doesn't matter what gifts I may get today, because I am already richly blessed by the presence of everyone in my life. (I'm not saying I'm forfeiting my presents, though! I still would like those! :) )  I'm not sure what the rest of today will hold, although I'm sure it will be very interesting with all five boys, especially Cole! They say that we could get anywhere from four to ten inches of snow, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that pans out. Regardless, I hope that everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!