Christmastide 2021/2022 - 1st Day of Christmas: Dinner with Mom & A Visit with Sam and Fam

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Mom came over just before the 2 pm Google Meet I'd set up with Sam. We had a nice conversation with Sam, Becky, and the boys. At one point the boys told us about the presents they got this year. Sam mentioned that Cairic got a helmet because he had been hitting his head a lot recently. Cairic looked quite excited and jumped up to fetch said helmet. We were a little concerned and Mom asked why he was hitting his head lately. Before anyone could answer Cairic came back with a medieval type helmet that looked something like a knight might wear. We were relieved Sam had been joking about Cairic hitting his head and had a good laugh about how funny it looked as he tried it on. 

The meet lasted just about an hour. By the time it ended it was 10 pm in Sam's part of the world.

Mom brought us a funny gnome as a Christmas present. I love it!

We had beef stroganoff for dinner which Dale and I made together. It was quite delicious. Dale also made his famous Brussels sprouts with bacon and maple syrup. So yummy. 

Shortly before Mom arrived I tried on my kilt for the first time since last year. On Christmas of 2020 I realized how much lockdown weight I had put on when I couldn't get the main snap of the garment any closer than about two inches apart. This year I was able to snap it. It was tight but I was able to snap it. I like to call it a Christmas miracle but much more sensible eating in 2021 than in 2020 was the actual reason. 

Sylvester did great with Mom. He was outgoing and very comfortable being next to her on the couch. 

After we all had some pumpkin pie Mom decided to call it a night at about 7 pm as she was starting to wilt a bit. Overall she did really well considering she sang at the 9 pm Christmas Eve mass at her church last night. So good to spend Christmas with her. She's the only one on the planet I've celebrated every Christmas with in one way or another. As I look back I can only come up with two or three times I haven't been with her on the actual day. Each of those times we made up for it by celebrating on one of the other 12 days of Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mom!