That Holiday Cheer

Yesterday marked the end of the "Christmas" holiday in my family, which means we made our annual trip to Gilbertsville, PA after Christmas to my great-aunt Margie's house. After being greeted by her "4or Sale" sign on Santa Claus outside (i'm not kidding), we went inside for a fun afternoon of watching football, eating, and listening to relatives say crazy things.

We generally do Christmas Eve at my parents' home, Christmas at my grandmother's, and this other holiday thing the Sunday after. It's three times of listening to the same stories, being annoyed by the same people, and eating almost the same food. It's a great week though. It is something that I dread before, and cherish after it's done every year. My great-aunts and uncles, and my grandmother, are all in their late 80s and early 90s now. I do wish I was going on vacations for Christmas, or going to St. Patrick's Cathedral for mass, or doing any number of things besides what I do, but I can't replace these times when they are gone. I might hate 8 am mass on Christmas morning (ok, not "might"), but someday I won't need to do it.

I'm always happy when the Christmas season is over, mostly because it happened. This year was no different. God willing, we'll do it again in 2016.