My snow-filled days have passed…I am back in California in 50 degree weather where you almost look silly wearing a heavy coat, scarf, and mittens. Some people are not snow friendly, and I wouldn’t necessary call myself a snow lover, but there is something about having a winter with snow that can’t be beat.
I also couldn’t imagine a holiday season without our house in Boulder filled all of us Beckord kids (plus the dogs and baby). If the storm had prevented everyone from getting home, my Christmas would have been soooooo quiet and minus the usual chaos. I think I either somewhat love the chaos or am partially immune to the realization of how crazy some moments really are. Surprisingly, our family and extended family survived Christmas day with all the dogs and varying personalities fairly well. It was actually fun to watch home video of my dad and his brothers and sister when they were kids (even though there was no sound). And we had those funny grandma moments…where she ate an orange glazed carrot and insisted that it was a “little wiener” even though it tasted like a baby carrot and had the texture of a cooked carrot. The “non-gift” Christmas wasn’t really as my mom declared it to be. She did a pretty good job of filling our stockings with extremely thoughtful stocking-sized gifts which took more energy and effort than was laid out in her “No Christmas Gift Rules.” My dad did a glorious job of finding treasures at the Hallmark store that was going out of business. My older bro got a nice ceramic dog doorstop which was missing a glass eye. And Nathan surprised us all with gifts from my mom’s recycled gift drawer. His gifts included: a bed-wetting contraption for my little brother (who during the gift giving time was dressed in yellow pants, a hockey jersey, and a braided/beaded Jamaican Rasta hat…and proceeded to wear the bed-wetting contraption as we opened our gifts), a cutting board my older brother gave to my grandmother which she returned back to him as a gift and was again recycled and given to my mom, a wooden penis bottle opener for my dad (I don’t know where this came from), and pot holders for me and my sister. I don’t think most families have a Christmas quite like we do in the Beckord home…I sure hope my sister’s husband and brother’s wife can some day appreciate the odd Beckord humor.
Beyond the snow, the holiday events, all the family, the dogs, and the traditional mass amounts of food…I would have to say that the baby made my trip home the most enjoyable. Amelia was such a different little human than she had been a month ago at my brother’s wedding. She actually now seems to be understanding and has an interest in what is going on around her. She really bonded with all of us…gosh…I miss her! I have come to terms with the fact that I will never have a child who is as precious or as cute as Amelia, which is ok. I just have to enjoy her as much as I possibly can!
Now it is back to work and life in the bay area. Ho hum.