Christmas was a quiet affair for me this year. We had our family Christmas lunch which rolled into dinner with the left overs. It was just us, the two boys and Tara this year. I still miss my father in law, Brian. He was always in good spirits at Christmas time. Boxing Day is traditionally the day we get together with all of my husbands family. Our kids are the eldest and with all 4 siblings having 2 children each it was always full of noise, fun and food. Christmas Day usually sees me running around getting the house ready for Boxing Day, but this year my fabulous sister in law decided to have it at theirs. I spent time drifting around feeling like I had forgotten to do something. We were having a late Boxing Day dinner as some of the kids have jobs on Boxing Day now. We have only had shops open on Boxing Day for about 3 years now and I don’t like it. Boxing Day was always a family day and now there is mass flocking to shops for sales. Do we really need more shopping?? Anyway I liked it more when it was “old fashioned” and the shops were closed. We had all but one child there, as she was overseas. We all had a lovely time catching up and the kids had fun razzing each other. I call them kids but they are mostly young adults now…. still be called kids in another 10yrs I think :). While at my sister in laws I felt the urge to keep trying to help, but really it was mostly done and I felt so relaxed! A lovely day surrounded by our family. Time soon raced on to New Years Eve. It is probably the quietest one we have had. Just my husband and I, sitting on the couch watching tv. We made it to midnight, a proud fact, and soon departed to bed. It seems the theme for this year is “Quiet and steady as we go.”
We flew to Melbourne to attend my nephew’s wedding. It was great to catch up with some more of my family. We stayed with one of my nieces and her husband. I have a lot in common with her and it is always fun when we catch up. I caught up with some more nieces, my nephew and my brother at the wedding. It was a lovely affair, made all the more poignant by the fact that my brother, the father of the groom, had passed away last year. His mum has also passed, so it was lovely to see him happy next to his new bride. I felt them in the room with us and know they would have been bursting with pride. I also got to stay with an elderly uncle of mine. He is a true gent and we always enjoy catching up with him.
I’m back at work now and it seems like a distant memory already….
Now must get down to planning our next trip 🙂
wrightconnections 