The Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s holiday trifecta is in full swing at the Hectic Household. I’ve been listening to Christmas Music on Pandora for almost three weeks, and the family hasn’t revolted yet. There were a couple of under-the-breath comments made, but overall the family members who are living in the Hectic House have been pretty receptive. Much moreso than in prior years!
With four of the kids spread across the country from Maine to Colorado to Texas to Minnesota, the planning for holiday travel is in full swing. We’re hoping that both our twins will be able to make the trek to Kansas from Colorado and Minnesota respectively for Thanksgiving. It’s a lot of driving for each of them, and the weather is always iffy this time of year, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that we’ll get to see them. I haven’t seen either of them since September.
We got word that at least one of the girls will be able to make it for an extended stretch just after Christmas. Since this is her first year working at her new job I’m elated that she was able to get any time off. We’re still waiting to hear about the other twin. Our daughter who’s in school in Maine will also be coming home for a couple weeks, just after Christmas.
We know that a 1,400 driving trip will occur starting exactly a month from today. At least four, and possibly as many as six of the Hectic Household will attend the Army Advanced Individual Training Graduation for our oldest son. We’ll make the entire roundtrip in three days, including the graduation. Just in time for him to be in town for a weight lifting competition. Never a day off for that one.
Thanksgiving will be hosted at our house for our immediate family and my Mom. There’s always the possibility that some of the kids will bring their Plus-1’s (boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, or whatever they’re choosing to call whomever they bring), so the table might need to be expanded a bit. I’m already working on convincing my Mom to come for the better part of the day. As she gets older the convincing is more and more difficult.
Christmas will be different around here for a number of reasons. For the first time since my first trip to Kansas, my wife’s family of ten siblings won’t be getting together in one huge conglomeration. For the past few years we’ve been the hosts, so our Christmas Eve and Day have had the dual focus of celebrating with our immediate family and then extended family. Furthermore, since several of the kids won’t arrive until the 27th we’re going to have multiple days of celebration. I’m all up for it…but it is going to be different.
I’ve been thinking about the Thanksgiving and Christmas menus for the better part of the Fall, but haven’t made any final decisions yet. I’ve had some requests for menu items for the days surrounding the holidays, but I usually end up with a pretty standard meal on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Traditionally we have cheese and chocolate fondue on New Year’s Eve, and I’m sure that will be in the plan again this year. It’s pretty exciting that we’ll have much of the family home for that holiday. It’ll be nice to bring in the New Year together. We haven’t done that in a while.
The biggest hurdle that I have to clear this year is getting the house ready for everybody to be here while taking care of my personal mini-Yoda. I’m not getting nearly as much done as I had hoped I’d be able to. It doesn’t help that he and I have both come down with colds. He’s perfectly happy to sleep on my shoulder during a good chunk of the day, and honestly it’s pretty hard not to fall asleep when you have a little space heater cuddling up on your shoulder, softly snoring away!
So, with 10 days until Thanksgiving I’m getting a bit anxious that I won’t get everything pulled together, but I’m equally excited that we’ll get to have a full house a couple of times, and for several days, over the next few weeks. There are so many of us, and so many different stories to tell, adventures to share, and laughs to be had that I honestly can’t wait!
Make it a great day, and make it a great Holiday season!
