Hi! It’s me! Lily!
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Let me say it right now. Sabby was right. I don’t know why I doubt her. She was right. She’s always right and it annoys the snot out of me sometimes.
So as you can see by the topic above, Christmas was today. I guess that’s pretty obvious, right? December 25? Christmas? Yay me?
We got up early because David couldn’t wait, and we sat around the tree in our pajamas and opened presents. I got Beth a new makeup kit and hairbrush, which she seemed to appreciate. David got a new game, which of course he liked. I made sure to check with Sabby about what kind of game to get him, though, and it couldn’t be too expensive, it’s not like I had infinite money to play with. I got Dave a grilling set, which he loved! And Sabby… well… it’s so hard to shop for her. The letter worked so well for her birthday but that’s kind of a one shot thing. I bought her a sterling silver charm bracelet, and put all sorts of charms on it that showed her what she meant to me. I put a heart, a charm that said “mom”, and a very pretty translucent glass charm on it. She loved it.
“Mom?”, she said, with hope in her eyes. The symbolism of that word wasn’t lost on her. I just nodded. She launched herself at me and we hugged it out.
“Does that mean I get to be Dad?,” Dave said. I giggled. “Hit me with your best dad joke and we’ll think about it,” I said. He laughed. “Of course!,” I said, and hugged him too.
But they got me stuff too! Dave and Sabby got me the piano, so I didn’t expect anything else from them! But they got me lessons too! I’ll be working with a teacher! I guess that’s part of schooling but still nice! Beth got me a very pretty necklace that said “Lily” on it, and of course I hugged her. David had help yet again, I know he did, because he got me some assorted bangles and hair clips. He got a hug too, whether he wanted it or not. True, I don’t usually wear bangles, but the kid thought of what I’d like rather than what he’d like, so credit where credit’s due. I put a couple on.
After everyone else exchanged presents, we had a big breakfast – Sabby had been cooking some more. She cooked and she cooked till her cooker was sore! We had pancakes and eggs and toast and all sorts of yummy stuff. Even chocolate syrup! After breakfast we cleaned up all the wrapping, and there was a knock on the door!
It was Grace, with her parents!
She hugged me! She loved her present! It was just a toy from the convenience store but she was holding it sooo proudly. “Thankth, Auntie Lily!”, she said, and she handed me something too. It was just a piece of paper with a child’s drawing of her and “Auntie Lily” on it, with a heart and a smiling yellow sun, but it was perfect! I thanked her, of course, and immediately put it on the fridge. She went back to Liz’s house with her parents, but I think my heart grew three sizes!
Anyway, Dave and David turned on the TV to watch some parade or something.
Sabby grabbed lots of paper plates (yeah, yeah) and put cookies and brownies and treats and all sorts of stuff on them, covered them with cling wrap, and she and I trekked over to Liz’s house wearing Santa hats. “Merry Christmas!,” we yelled, and Liz’s mother looked surprised.
“You didn’t have to -“
“I made way, way more than we could eat, Here, we have snickerdoodles, and sugar cookies, and brownies, and, oh! I read that you have something in Ohio called buckeyes! I made some of those too!,” Sabby said cheerfully as she handed the plates off.
“I want a buckeye! I want a buckeye!”, Grace said excitedly.
“Well, thank you, and Merry Christmas to you too,” Liz’s mother said happily.
I handed Liz her present (and after yesterday, I need to get her back!) and she gave me a hug. I got her a set of fancy chopsticks. She loved them.
I waved at Jack, and he waved back. As we were leaving, Grace was already tearing into the buckeyes. Oh, that poor family once the sugar hit…
Anyway, I don’t know how to describe the rest of the day. It was just a lovely Christmas. Dave and David watched a football game, Sabby made a huge dinner with turkey and all of the good stuff, while Beth and I sat at the kitchen table, ate cookies, drank juice, and just chatted about everything and nothing. We had a huge dinner, and after, we watched a Christmas movie. Dave wanted “Die Hard”, but Sabby vetoed that, and we watched Home Alone instead. What a silly movie!
Christmas is amazing. The day starts out so quiet, and throughout the day, everything slowly wakes up – children pop out of their houses playing with their new toys, traffic on the freeway starts to get louder again, and the world starts up. But for that few hours, that few wonderful hours when everyone wakes up, the whole country, the whole world, is quiet, celebrating everything that’s important to them.
Tomorrow is back to normal. Jack and I are going to spend the evening together after I get off work. They leave a couple of days from now. I’ll miss Jack. But I won’t be heartbroken like last time. We’ll see each other again. Now I know it. We’ll see each other again.