It begins…looking ahead to Christmas Day.
When I was a child, Christmas was spent visiting the grandparents, both sets who lived on the same block in a little village where my parents were born and raised, and I, too, was born. We ran up the alley from one house to the other. It was predictable and anticipated. So much fun to be had with the 50 cousins we met that day. (We saw them more than that, but at Christmas we usually got the full count. And frankly, I haven’t stopped to accurately count, but I have more than 50 first cousins.)
Now, I’m planning meals and figuring out schedules. Of course I enjoy it, but I’m pretty sure my grandmothers had the same menu and the aunts brought the same sides year after year. All I know is, as kids we were ignored and had the run of the house and the town when we were all together. And my grandmother with the most grandchildren gave the unmarried ones two dollars each year. Finally, when I turned 30, she was relieved of her duties and invested elsewhere. (I may have held the record for latest marriage date in her clan.)
Ah, I miss the grandmothers. Their spirit lives on through my hosting efforts, which include good food, family and friends, and of course, music.
The music part is a story for another day!