Monday, November 26, 2007

And I'm spent, again

Despite the lack of activity this last holiday season, I felt like I was run over a few times, tossed back in the barn and then run over one more time for good measure.

And that was just Friday night.

Thursday was relatively calm, considering the disaster it could have been. Holidays in my immediate family have a tendency to be less than calm, after everything that has been going on with my parents started five years ago. Usually they end in tears, yelling, slammed doors and thrown phones. And that's all before dinner. Considering what happened at the beginning of the month, I expected more of the same. Only on a bigger scale.

This year though, calmness prevailed.

Most of the fam gathered at my aunts for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and a lot of laughter. My uncle had a good number of my grandmother's old boxes of photos (lack of ambition to actually put them in albums must run in the family), and boy where there some doozies in there. Pictures of my mom and uncle in their sunday best, my great-grandfather goofing off in the backyard of the old house, my grandfather in his Army uniform and my favorite, my great-great-grandmother who I had never seen a photo of before. It was a nice trip down memory lane andI can't wait to get into them even more in a few weeks when the Philadelphia branch of the family comes around for the holiday shin-dig.

By the time I made it home to watch The Incredibles with Room mate #1, I was one pooped pup.

Friday was a work day. As we like to say in the obit biz, death doesn't take a holiday. A good number of my high school friends were in town so we made plans to get together and catch up. One of my oldest and dearest friends, Deb and her new boyfriend Dave, met me for a drink or two of pregame. She was nervous about Dave meeting everyone and wanted something to loosen up. I was up for a drink...well, because I could. We tossed a few back then joined the others for conversation, popcorn and good laughs. Before I knew it, it was 11:30 and I was yawning like nobody's business. The length of my day was starting to catch up to me. We all parted ways with promises to see each other over the Christmas holiday and I headed for home and my bed.

Saturday was reunion #2...my college friends. We all became friends freshman year when we either lived on the same floor or were in band together. The six of us had
some pretty good times over our four years at Camp Shippy. From Jello Wrestling at Sig Pi, to graffiti parties at Kappa Sig (where Yvonne met her husband, I might add), to shared trips home and nonsense late at night when we were hyped up on Mountain Dew and trying to study for some test. We all definitely share a bond. This reunion was one of the rare times we were all able to be available for a get together. Jess, Kelly and Yvonne bundled up the kids, grabbed their husbands and met Steph, Kristina and I at a Friendlys centrally located in Hershey. Just like with my high school friends, it was like hardly any time had passed since our last get together. We hugged and caught up on each other's lives, passed around the babies (Kelly has a 6 month old and Jess a 10 month old), shared gossip about other college acquaintances and laughed the afternoon away. Before we knew it, it was time to go. The kids were getting restless and some others had another party to go to. We parted ways with hugs and promises to try and get together twice next year, instead of once.

The rest of my weekend was relatively quiet. Much to some of my friends' disappointment, I spent Saturday night on my couch, watching Christmas movies (my all time favorite, White Christmas was on television) and dozing through other shows. TBD yelled at me and told me I needed to go out. I told him to bugger off and let me enjoy a rare quiet night at home. Not that it mattered, he was in Northern New Jersey anyway. Yesterday was relaxed and laid back too. I had to stop in at work to finish some paperwork I didn't get to Friday before I left. Otherwise, the day was nice and easy, finishing off with yet another family party.

This week will be pretty busy as I head back to my parents' friend's house to housesit while they're in Walt Disney World. It's easy money but a little bit of a hassle since I kind of have to put my own life on hold for a few days. Friday is my birthday, but since I'm house sitting it will be celebrated quietly. Maybe have dinner with some friends but no big blowout this year. I'm getting too old for that. Besides, I tend to enjoy the nice quiet nights in a little bit more...

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