home for the holidays

Ever since John and I got married, we've alternated holidays. Thanksgiving with one family...Christmas with the other. Next year, switch 'em up! It has been very successful as it allows us to spend quality time with each of our families over the holiday, and since the holidays are known in advance, it allows everyone to plan accordingly.

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with John's family and will do Christmas with mine. Usually, I'm sad to miss our family's Thanksgiving -- it's a rowdy dinner with two other families that involves much wine, boisterous conversation, a few dirty jokes and people (namely, my mom) randomly breaking into song. In contrast our Christmases are much quieter (we see the T-giving crew on Christmas Eve for a more subdued gathering) with just my parents, my sister and Steve, and my family. Christmas is fun, mind you...but we've never played Thumper at the dinner table.

This year, however, I feel so blessed that things worked out the way they did. Since Kiki is due in early March, this will be her last trip to the East Coast for the forseeable future. I plan on going out after Cousin Slacker arrives (and possibly even before)...but my side of the family won't get together again in full until at least next summer...or (heaven forbid!) not until next Thanksgiving. So, this extended time of quality family time over the Christmas break will be just what the doctor ordered in order to get us through this upcoming absence.

As a family, we're all aware of the bittersweetness of this visit. There's a concerted effort to not get caught up in the hype of the holidays -- the adults drew names to cut down on Christmas shopping, my mom is stockpiling meals so that we aren't slaving away in the kitchen. There are no grand plans being made (other than a possible baby shower), and we're all just fine with that. A week or two hunkering down with my favorite people is all we need.

Last night, I had a bout of insomnia and, since I was up, called my sister to chat. We caught up on our respective Thanksgivings, I told her what her crazy nieces were up to and she gave me the low-down of gear she was acquiring. But the theme permeating the call was how excited we were to see each other in a few weeks.

For the girls, the countdown stands at 22 days. For me, I only have to wait 17.