Christmas! Mixed emotions bring about positive response!

So Thanksgiving, surprisingly, went really well...on both sides. So, being the Realist Rachel that I am...I start to anticipate the reality of what goes up must come down. Started out with last minute shopping (on a budget) for the boyfriend. The Eve of Christmas Eve, in the rain, right before work. Nothing says icky & last minute as that! I put on my thinking cap & really thought about what Mr Beasley would like. I think I did ok. I hope I did ok?!
After working, not sleeping, it's family time! Yippee! 😁 As I'm getting ready, I hear that my cousin Andy had just passed away. Now, Realist Rachel is really in rare form...
We arrive at the grandparents & things surprisingly go really well. Somber but not depressing. I think we all realize that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. There was no bickering. There was no yelling. There was no crying. There were no hurt feelings. Everyone's gifts were heart felt. On a side note, the best gift...a laser pointer for cats. Yes, a normal person would think that was silly. But I am an experienced mother with an infant unlike any of my other children. This laser pointer wears out my infant so that she does not scratch, bite or claw at me (or her older, not as active siblings) when we all want to be sleeping! Score!!! It's like baby Benadryl without the harmful side effects! 😁
Joey & I spend the last few hours before I go back into work driving around looking at Christmas lights (and collecting Waze points). Don't ask about the second part. Some houses weren't decorated, some were nicely decorated. And others were just plum obnoxious! I'm gonna start looking at my friends & predicting what kind of Christmas decorator they are...don't think I'm kidding!!! Can you guess what kind of decorator I am?! 😉
The best part of Christmas wasn't the awesome pink ribbon rain boots I got. The years worth of Omaha Steaks. The money/gift cards. The thermos that looks like a camera lens. My brand new Keurig. The "baby Benadryl". Or the countless other heart-felt gifts. The best gift was being around family. Not bickering. Not being scorned (or as they call it, "loving you enough to want the best for you"). Not being told I'm fat (hey, dodo, I look in the mirror EVERY day...I know what I look like). Watching "brothers" smile. Watching the kids (big & small) play with a brand new train set.
Your health is a blessing. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Love the ones that make you crazy.