It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas

It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas

By Allan Olson
Well, it finally is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and if the weather forecasts hold true (up to six more inches of snow prior to publication of this paper) any thoughts of us not having a White Christmas will be eradicated.
It was a truly chaotic weekend for us, with our Christmas celebrating starting on Saturday with a trip to International Falls. In most years we are, if not the first guests to arrive at my wife’s brother’s house for Christmas, at least really close. This year we ended up being the last, through no fault of our own. My niece had a basketball game out of town and, of course, it was a late starting game, so in order for her to attend Christmas with the family, she would need transport, and since her game was in our area, we were the logical choice. We attended her game all ready to cheer her on, but alas, since she wasn’t one of the starting five and the game was close the entire way, she didn’t get to show off her basketball prowess. While that was bad enough, it felt like an atrocity to have to pay to attend a game. I’m so used to attending the CL-B games as a reporter, and I really thought about waving my press card there, too, and just saying, “Media” and not paying, but I didn’t, even though I’m sure I could’ve gotten in.
We finally arrived at our destination just after 7 p.m., some two hours later than normal. There was still some food left, and after we enjoyed some goodies, I got to spend some time with my only great niece, who unlike the last time we met, came to me right away. Of course the cute little lady enjoys food, and wanted to sample from my plate, but no worries, I helped her to my food and enjoyed my brief visit with her. After the meal was done, we got the next matter at hand and exchanged some gifts. 
At about 9:30 p.m. we loaded up again and departed for home, taking a short detour to check out my cousin’s new home. We toured their house while the kids stayed in the van; by the time we got back 10 minutes later, the only sound inside the vehicle was that of kids sleeping. We arrived home shortly after midnight and started unpacking the van. The kids were actually more of a help than many previous times we’ve asked for help, even though they were all still tired. Usually they take right off for places unknown, then get in trouble for not helping. By the time stuff got put away it and everyone was in bed, it was 1:30 a.m. – many hours past my bedtime. I was definitely ready to grab some shuteye.
I finally crawled out of bed sometime after 8:30 a.m. on Sunday and located some food about an hour later – a nice bowl of cold cereal hit the spot. I headed back to my room and found my computer with the intention of getting some work done, but for some reason my computer chose to not charge and was completely dead, so that wasn’t going to happen. I got the charger working again, set it on the floor and decided that a mid-morning nap was in order. I woke up a couple hours later. Checking the time, I decided that I would make some pumpkin bread, and with some assistance from Marcus, we got that task completed. Then Abigail asked me to do some coloring with her, and even though I’ve never been much into coloring, I complied, and soon five of us were sitting at the table doing the Crayola thing. In the meantime, my wife awoke from her afternoon nap and made zuchinni bread; Nikolai made apple bread, and then my wife and I worked together on supper. 
We had a tip that some Christmas carolers might be dropping by that evening, so we had some goodies ready when they arrived. Sure enough, at about 6 p.m., several members of a church in the area stopped at our home to sing Christmas songs for us – they sang splendidly, and we shared our goodies with them.
This week will surely be busy, and somewhat unusual with the first two days spent working. I probably won’t be working much Wednesday and Thursday, as we will be celebrating Christmas with our children. I’l be working again on Friday, then on Saturday it looks like we will be heading north to see my parents for the day. On Sunday we will be back home again, ready to begin another partial work week. The kids will enjoy a week off from school, and we’ll have our annual New Year’s party – we never know how many will show up until they all arrive.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and I hope all of our readers get to enjoy time with family and friends.
Please be safe while enjoying your favorite outdoor recreational activity and on the lakes, and remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories. Remember to drive safely, and watch out for those buses carrying our children. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.

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