A Sad Good-bye

This Christmas meant the following to me...
a hectic flurry of days,
lots of fun,
very expensive (can't hardly wait for those Visa bills to come!),
delicious foods (home cookin' and a good restuarant meal),
tiring (less than 5 hours sleep many nights in a row, and NO NAPS),
full of activities,
rainy (almost a wet basement for me, really a wet basement for the Iowans),
many relatives (my siblings, plus 5 from Iowa),
met the new girlfriend of Skaterboy,
toys, toys, toys,
preschoolers and babies all around,
a few meltdowns by preschoolers, and a couple of near misses by the adults,
a trip to the bead store with my sister,
meeting Coal the 5 month old puppy (my wounds will heal),
at least 2 trips to the recycling center, another one scheduled tomorrow,
got my new drill (This D*mn House, take note!).........

but, it all ended, and much too soon.

My sister and her hubby bid us adieu about 2 p.m. yesterday. We see each other 2-3 times a year, so this was a sad goodbye. The M & M's had to say goodbye to their cousins last night at 8:00 p.m. That was difficult for a 4-1/2 and 3-1/2 year old to do, since they love playing with their cousins who live far away. At 10:00 a.m. this morning, the Iowa children and grandchildren left, with kisses and hugs flying, and the sleigh from Iowa packed to the gills with toys and kids. That was the saddest good-bye.

And now the house is quiet. I got to take as many naps today as time would allow. I got to eat as many carbs as I could while my eyes were propped open between naps. And I got to use many tissues, because once the house was quiet, it all hit me, IT'S OVER FOR ANOTHER YEAR. And I will miss the hub-bub. and those grandchildren who live far away will be growing up and be different the next time I see them. The littlest one will have his 1st birthday in 3 weeks. And I will miss it. Thank heaven the other three live close by.

Naps at will are certainly fine, but not as much fun as playing with a grandchild or shopping with my sister. Or just being all together under one roof, because all my living relatives were with me on Christmas day at my house. But, on reflection, even with sad goodbyes, it was a good Christmas holiday.