I genuinely don’t know the last time we had Christmas with my mom. The closest we’ve come is when we went to New York City back in 2008. Prior to that? Maybe 2004. It’s been a while.
Of course, Mom moved to Calgary this year, so we got to enjoy having her here all day, which for me started around 6:45, when my sick body decided sleeping was overrated and got me up. I’ve had this wretched cold nearly a week, now, and it would be really nice for it to just jog on and let me enjoy a few days.
I picked her up just before 10am. There were few on the roads, the majority still enjoying a late start to the day, spending time with family. My family was stirring at home, slowing getting into the day, and were largely active by the time I returned.
Stockings, presents, and then breakfast (pancakes and bacon), after which we visited for a bit, and Mom got subjected to Spirited (with Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell, rapidly becoming a family favourite Christmas movie).
That might seem a bit quick, but it’s for good reason – Christmas is being kept a bit quiet this year. Until June, Alex isn’t making any income, as she wraps up her MRI education with an unpaid practicum. (You want to know why there’s not enough medical professionals? It’s the cost of training!) And as much as it hurts me to tell my children: I’m sorry, but nothing extravagant this year (not that we’re crazy, just that there’s a lot less than years previous). It’s not that there’s a risk or a concern or anything about them loving us any less if they don’t get presents, but … well, it’s Christmas, right? That’s when all the fun stuff comes out. We’ve had to make due … and we’re going to be doing a lot of that over the months to come.
The turkey went in around 1pm, which was easily an hour too early. I dunno if it’s our oven or the Canadian Turkey Producer’s roasting guidelines, but something is off and the turkey was done much sooner than expected. It wasn’t overdone per se, but I definitely need to find a new roasting method, as the current one is problematic.
Alex prepped dessert – our first trifle, with lemon sponge, vanilla pudding (don’t @ me, it’s better than you think), fresh blackberries and strawberries, and of course, whipped cream. The boozy part was a blackberry mead we’ve been hanging onto for too long.
Janice came as well, arriving towards the end of Spirited, and did her twice-annual protein intake of a turkey leg. I made her onion-free stuffing. I miss having wheat bread for stuffing, no amount of attempts with gluten-free bread produce anything but mush.
I took Mom and Janice home just after 8, returning to finish cleaning up a bit. Alex and I watched some Taskmaster before I finally packed it in. Aside from a busy day, I’ve got a stupid cold that just won’t go away. I’m pretty sure, however, that I didn’t give it to Mom.
