Trares
Christmas Part 1 is in the books.
As I’d mentioned in last week’s column, our family started our holiday celebrations over the weekend. We loaded the car and set out for Perrysburg, Ohio, where I’d grown up. Over the course of three days, our family, my mother, brother and sister would all be under one festive roof.
Within minutes of arriving, Anthony had one goal — to scout out all of the different gifts and find the ones for him. Crawling underneath and around the tree, he’d constantly shout, “There’s one!” He also kept on the lookout for the rest of us, pushing aside the ones for Daddy or Mommy or Uncle Cory or Aunt Lizzy. Grandma Linda had her own little pile.
Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long to open everything up. The morning after our arrival, we gathered around the tree, coffee cups in hand, and exchanged gifts. Anthony played Santa, and stayed on task as long as you could reasonably expect a 7-year-old to focus.
All of the adults gave such thoughtful presents, and it was nice seeing the creativity that went into our exchange. But the star of the show was Anthony. Everyone wanted to see what he was getting.
Most of the items on his Christmas list were under the tree. He tore into the new art and craft supplies, taking out new markers, sparkly pipe cleaners and page after page of stickers. A Chewbacca action figure was certainly a pleaser.
But it was a gift that came out of nowhere that truly blew him away. This one was bought on a whim by my brother, Uncle Cory: a handheld video game loaded with 300 generic games. Once we put the batteries in it, Anthony was mesmerized by the sheer quantity of games to explore.
“I did not expect this,” he said over and over, clutching the new treasure in his hands.
Presents opened, wrapping paper cleaned up and everyone settled into their seats on the couch, it was time for the most beloved of Christmas traditions — lounging around in comfy clothes, playing with whatever we got, and grazing all day long.
My mom had made such a delicious spread, from a breakfast casserole to ham for sandwiches to dips of all kinds that rotated from the kitchen table to the refrigerator over and over again. My brother has been working at an authentic Polish market during the holiday season, and he brought the most amazing redskin potato salad that I’ve ever eaten.
It was a day filled with joy and relaxation. I was able to slip out for a bit to meet up with old friends I hadn’t seen in months, laughing over a beer and catching up for a few hours. We all were able to watch the Cleveland Browns together — something that almost never happens — and even more rare, they won!
We’ll be at my wife’s family’s house this weekend for the holiday. The first chapter of Christmas was a success.
I can’t wait to see what the sequel has in store.
