Back in L.A. again!

Some people spend winter vacations in Florida or Hawaii. Me? I spend them in Michigan. Where we had ice storms, snow storms, 30-hour power outages, terrible flu outbreaks and temperatures that flirted with -40 degrees. I dug out the old Sorel neon boots and laced them up. I froze my legs off getting made into a snow lady by the neighborhood kids. I went to the ole Urgent Care and got my handy-dandy Zpac mere hours before we hosted a party for 80 people at our house. I kept warm sitting by my parents' new electronic fireplace, drinking wine and eating a pound or two of chocolate and nuts. I read several books that were not for research.

It was the perfect holiday.

I knew Christmas would be different this year. In quick succession this summer and fall my family was left without any grandparents. It's a part of life we all accept and try to understand. And then Christmas Eve came and I sat by the tree and I sobbed. I sobbed because I missed my Grandma. I missed her laugh and that evil twinkle in her eye and the way she always had cake at her house. No matter what. I missed my Grandpa. I missed his Hawaiian Punch and Seven-Up with cheap vanilla ice cream treat. I missed his soft, "Alright, Babe" when he would hug me hello and goodbye. I missed my Grandma and her loud cackle as we played cards and the way she always listened intently to what was happening in my life. I missed my grandparents on Christmas. I missed the ones who'd only been gone a short while and the ones who've been gone years. 

So we had a good cry, all of us. Then we sat down to dinner, just the four of us, and then headed to church. It was a good Christmas, made bright by so many wonderful people and good days and fun moments. It was. It really was.

We spent so much time with the grandneighbors. We had them all of Christmas Eve morning and we baked and we read stories and we played games and did crafts. And it was perfect. They came over Christmas morning and opened presents by the tree and ate a big breakfast and relaxed a little before we all had to go about preparing our Christmas dinners. I cannot begin to explain how much their presence in our lives means. We are so blessed that they are all a part of our family. 

And we relaxed. We played games. Big Bang Theory Clue and Big Bang Theory UNO and cards and puzzles. We read books and passed them between one another. John Grisham and Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton and Anne Lamott. Books so good we didn't want to put them down and we raced under the tree to grab before the rightful owner could grab them (This might have been me, going for the latest Stephanie Plum book, the day after Christmas. Maybe. It might have been my mom's book. But she's great. And I read it fast).

So yes, we had a white Christmas. Yes, we had a wonderful Christmas. Yes, we had a no power for a day and a half. Yes, I had the flu. Yes, it was lovely and tiring and relaxing and stressful and fun. It was family. It was perfect.