A Wicked Holiday is Coming!

I mentioned to someone (a few someones really) how excited I was that our kids were coming home this week. Yes, this week. Not next week when there is an actual holiday on the calendar.

Alex is still in Denver. Cole is now in Scottsdale. The kid who doesn't usually make plans without double or triple-checking with others went ahead and booked a flight for the week before Thanksgiving to save himself some snaps.  I can't blame him, but was concerned that it wouldn't work for Al. Cole must've had a vision, because it did happen to work out. The kids will be here for that wonderful time known as the week before Thanksgiving. 

Everyone with grown children understands how tricky the holidays can be, especially when kids live away from home and have jobs with various time-off policies and have partners who also like to see their own families. So, this year I put my tree up earlier than ever, flipped the lights to orange, wrapped a few gifts in fall-like wrapping paper and put a pumpkin next to it. The celebration will begin when they arrive. And I have plans! 

1. See Wicked for starters -- get those advertisers for the movie off our backs. 
2. Eat at the new Mediterranean Restaurant for some Shawarma. 
3. Repeat the word Shawarma as often as possible. 
4. 
   Sneak our way in to a spa for a mother-daughter manicure while boys do something else fun like...cow chores.
5. Have a few cocktails and hope that Alex whips up something that uses a frothy egg white to entice the relatives to come over. (Last phrase was sarcasm. They don't need egg whites. They know our fridge has libations aplenty.)
6. Make prime rib and/or another non-meat protein that will be surprisingly delicious even to Doug.
7. Discuss the current state of cinema and the literary scene.
8. Avoid politics.
9. Eat some bar food to remind the kids of their roots.
10. Cheer on the Hawks! Or, if you're Alex, read a book during the game.

On Sunday, the kids will head home and we will embark on a more untraditional holiday season. We'll duck out of Thanksgiving at the in-laws early and head to Iowa City for a big game on Friday. We'll scurry back for a wedding on Saturday night. We'll host a Christmas for any family who's around the Saturday before Christmas. We'll catch Mass on Christmas Eve before we take off for Scottsdale on Christmas Day. Christmas night we'll celebrate with Cole and Anna and Facetime Alex and Leo as they celebrate in Oregon. Then, to top off the holiday season, we'll attend another wedding on New Year's Eve. 

It all seems a little unorthodox for a structured person (aka me) who relishes in repeating traditions. I think about all the pageantry I tried to create at the holidays to make it special for the family. I definitely created unnecessary stress. As we transition into a new phase of our lives with grown children, I realize it's not the traditions I care about. It's spending time, doing anything at all, with my people. And the cat, course.

An Unconventional Gratitude List

Someone asked me the other day if I was still blogging. Of course, I am! But the last several blogs have mostly been in my head. I had a beautiful essay on the beauty of harvest after riding in the combine with my husband one night. It was somewhat self-aggrandizing for someone who doesn't do much on the farm except sing in a combine. That post got cut. (I'm a tough editor.)

So, here I am, back to it. Tapping the keyboard on my day off – the best way to burn off those turkey day calories – thinking deeply about gratitude. I could bore you all with the standard litany of thankfulness: God, family, friends, dogs named Percy who are so adorable sleeping in front of a Christmas tree and not barking or pooping. But I'm not gonna do that. (Disclaimer: I do not believe God nor family to be boring. Insert sign of cross.)

I sent out a survey to the Kramfam, asking them to name something unconventional they are thankful for. It took some time before I received any response, so here are a few things I came up with in the meantime:

• Untangling lights. So frustrating. So satisfying. Once I've unraveled a strand, I always wonder if I shouldn't have become an engineer. I'm sure unraveling lights is similar to building bridges.
• Having in-depth "top-five" lists with my son. E.g., top five movies not a part of a franchise, top five movies within a franchise, best superheroes... you get it. Hubby and firstborn think these conversations are silly.
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Indisputably, the best novel ever.
• Being an alum of a superior writing school school with sports programs that make any win seem like a national championship title. Black. Gold. Black. Gold.
• Being a child of the 80s when video killed the radio star. #Def_Leppard #I'llMissThoseJeans. (Shameless plug?)
• Day drinking on my days off. The recipe of choice:
  
          *1 shot of North 40 Vanilla Bean
          *1 Can of Fresca (or Diet Squirt)
          *1 Squeeze of Orange
  
  For best effect, mix and drink fast. Make another. And then another. Sponsored by Lonely Oak Distillery. 

Just in! The unconventional gratitudes from Alex, the eldest of our children:

• Salt. It makes gross shit taste great.
• Hands, and a sense of rhythm so I can play music.
• Bruce (the dog) because he's strange but beautiful.
• Not to be sleeping on a friend's couch anymore, to have a bed of my own.

She's profound and broke. And she did graduate from the best writing school in the world. 

After a little prodding, I finally heard from the boys in the family unit:

From Doug, the patriarch:

• Iowa Hawkeyes beating the Nebraska Huskers... and (in quieter voice) the ISU Cyclones.

That's it for the hubby. Well, there were other things I choose not to repeat.

From Cole, the youngest:

• Girls
• White Christmas lights.
• Snow

"Because all of them are pretty." 

Our son added that he hoped girls would read this and be impressed. He is 18 and doesn't realize that my audience doesn't include a whole lot of teenagers. As a matter of fact, my audience doesn't include a whole lot of anyone, really. But it doesn't matter! I'm happy to have a few moments to reflect, to write and make a few of you smile. Oh yeah! I just remembered another gratitude: Smiling! In the immortal words of Buddy the Elf, "I love smiling. It's my favorite!"

As we kick off this holiday season, I hope you all continue to think about those unique things we take for granted... like readers of inconsequential blogs. With that in mind, thank you. Seriously, thank you. I appreciate having a forum to tell a story or two. 

"We are all storytellers... there isn't a stronger connection between people than storytelling." 

-Jimmy Neil Smith