Wherever, Together

‘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?