Although we had planned to have Christmas 2019 in January 2020, scheduling conflicts pushed the celebration into February. The downstairs tree was already decorated in red and white, so creating a Valentine's theme was easily done by adding a paper heart and white roses to the December centerpiece on the dining room table.
Kelly and Rodney arrived around 4 in the afternoon, a little earlier than I had expected. Andrew and Alee came a few hours later. We snacked on celery (Alee's choice), chips, spinach and cheese dips and creme cheese topped with jalapeno jelly while waiting for Adam and Sarah.
I asked Rodney to be the official photographer and handed over my camera. Unfortunately, I hadn't used it for a long time and couldn't remember how to set it for still photos instead of video. Not a problem though and Rodney took video until the 4 gig card was full. Then we switched to our phones and captured more video and pictures.
After we opened presents, I read the notes from Andrew, Alee and Adam about the charities they had chosen this year. Their choices were deeply personal and sparked discussion and reflection.
Supper followed presents. Meat choices were pulled pork and turkey and gravy on buns (Andrew's favorite) and hot ham sliders. (The left-over ham sliders went home with Sarah.) Side dishes included baked beans, potato salad, pasta salad, and broccoli salad. During the after-dinner table conversations, Rodney cleared the table, loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen, giving me time to enjoy family. When we moved to the living room, Adam and I slipped away for a while to discuss stock investments.
The kids went back to Lawrence but Rodney and Kelly stayed all night.
The next morning, Rodney visited his mother while Kelly and I slept in. Rodney also went shopping and returned with a digital meat thermometer and a big bottle of dish detergent. I had trouble getting the ham sliders baked to the right temperature the night before so he saw that I needed a good thermometer. And, he had run out of dish soap when cleaning up. Great after-Christmas presents!
Delaying Christmas until February resulted in a relaxed holiday. We should do this again!
