‘Twas the day before Christmas
And into the house
Descended 9 more people
… hence no room for a mouse.
Instead of lying by the beach
We hunkered down in a deep freeze
Gathering duvets, heaters and woolies for all
Hoping to avoid la grande sneeze.
The agenda was long
Activities aplenty
Mostly indoors
But some outside – in minus twenty.
Skiing, boarding,
Building forts in the snow
Most adults were more content
To lay back and watch the fire glow.
But one cold wintry night
Eager were we to see all the lights
We attempted a walk
(in minus gazillion)
That very nearly ended in (verbal or snow) fights.
Go inside, go inside, go inside
We said
Enough of this wind chill
What’s wrong with our heads!
A TV, an iPad, and iPhone sufficed
For kids so tech-savvy not much else is nice.
But that’s not quite true
Because…
Gummy bracelets were made,
Piano and games were played,
An air bed was pumped
And bad wine was dumped.
The kitchen was headquarters
For our culinary treats
(Never mind the assortment of fish & meats)
From oatmeal and shakshuka
To bagels galore,
Squash soup, smoked salmon
And gluten-free ‘smores.
Salads and berries and coconut chips
Bananas, bananas and chocolate dips.
The Cirque was a highlight
Varekai – “wherever” – a dazzling show
But our very own duo
Belting it out
Made us proud to watch them grow
Family meetings, consultations
Computer queries to no end
Tutoring in math proofs and theorems
Made us adults scratch our heads.
There was sifting and sorting
Boxes packed ‘n piled high
Clothes to goodwill
Food for people whose funds have run dry.
Gifts were presented
Swapped and exchanged
The kids were mostly happy,
Some a bit sad
Once in awhile puzzled a tad.
Photos and slideshows
Nostalgia cranked up a bit
Stories and memories
Some were quite a hit.
My precious niblings,
Two of each gender
Is a foursome that clearly
Loves each other tender.
That quad played a game
Almost every night
Musical beds ad infinitum
Switching rooms like the speed of light.
There were meltdowns and down-times
Timeouts and outbursts too
The only things missing were
A whistle and kazoo.
Lest we forget
On the night before Christmas
Keeping tribal traditions
Alive and well-known…
We supped on hot ‘n sour
And chopsticked our way
Through fried rice, rolls and dumplings
Despite an inexcusable meal-delay
(which was most certainly not ok).
Now that most ex-pats (except I) have
Returned to their nests
Turned on their own heaters
We’ve once again passed the test.
Of spending so much time
In each others’ presence
Sharing bathrooms and chores
And so very much more.
We did it! We did it! We did it!
I say
Wherever we are, we can do it.. Olé!
But how ‘bout next time
With sand, surf and sun-rays?
I loved this post! Very clever and I love the photos. Happy New Year ~ Arlene
Thanks Arlene, and happy 2014 to you too!
Sounds like a fantastic and special time had by all. So glad you could be together.
Yes, after all it was a ball 😉 And I was SO happy to Skype with you too! When are you coming to visit? 😉
Lovely shots and a very Happy New Year !
Merci pour tes bon mots.. et bonne nouvelle annee!
This is brilliant! I was laughing and shaking my head at the tenderness and humor of it all – you captured family reunion essence in a nutshell!
Sweet of you Letizia to say so..It occurs to me that if someone was looking in on our home and extended family from above (for example, an air traffic controller), they’d likely see alot of mayhem and crossing of paths and linguistic anomalies that don’t necessarily make ‘sense’.. but I guess something about it just works for us!