Hey, you! đ
After a busy morning, we were off to my sister's at around lunch time. I thought it would go quickly, but boy did it not! First, I had to segregate the Christmas gifts. We agreed that we would leave our gifts to ourselves at home and we would open them when we came back. As everything was pretty mixed and matched under the tree, I had to double check I didn't leave anyone's gift behind. Can you imagine if I did?!
Loading the car proved to be quite challenging. And it was under the rain too! Our personal things, the gifts, the dog, and the dog's personal things. The car was filled to the brim!
After a very quick trip to Grand Frais to buy tropical fruits, we were finally off to my sister's.
My sister's house is about an hour away, but it feels like this whole other world. There's something about the countryside that's very relaxing and calm. Sometimes it feels like time just stops. Anyways, my sister had pretty much everything ready. All that was missing were the people.
My sister decided to host Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch with more or less the same people.
The most heartbreaking part was when the senior members of our family arrived. Everyone is vaccinated and almost everyone has had their booster, but we're really careful when it comes to social distance. Unfortunately, as the "baby" of the family, my daughter is the baby of the baby and so when my great-uncle saw her, he immediately hugged her and showered her with kisses. I saw the panic in her face and she looked at me for a sign that it was ok. I nodded because I knew what it meant to him. He then looked at me and said, "How about you? Do we hug or do the elbow thing?" "I'd rather do the elbow-thing if you don't mind", I answered back. Thing is he couldn't help himself and with his hand he caressed my cheek just like my papa used to do. I looked away, hiding the tears, knowing that at almost 90 years old this is not something he thought his final years would be Like. Same thing happened with my great-aunts who could not help kissing my daughter.
Anyways, my sister went above and beyond with Christmas Eve dinner. Good food, good drinks, good company! And a little before midnight, Santa Claus paid us a little visit to see the kids. Everyone was thoroughly spoiled, adults included! đđ
The holiday season is definitely in full swing!